For years, Cleveland Browns fans had to deal with the national media bailing out Kevin Stefanski. They called him an offensive guru and claimed he would land another job immediately if the Browns were to fire him.
That last part proved to be true, though, as the Atlanta Falcons were quick to make a run at him this offseason. Clearly, watching him win a grand total of eight games in the past two seasons didn't scare them away.
That's why they'll be in for a tough awakening in the first year of the Stefanski era. At least, that's how Bleacher Report's Moe Moton feels. In his latest column, he predicted the Falcons would regress from an 8-9 season and go 5-12 in 2026.
"Atlanta will play the AFC North. Stefanski knows that division well, which bodes well for matchups against those squads, but the Falcons may need to score 30-plus points to win games this year, and they're not equipped to do that with their quarterback situation," Moton wrote.
Kevin Stefanski’s Falcons tenure may not start the way Atlanta hoped
The Falcons' defense could be without James Pearce Jr., who could face an NFL suspension after his February arrest. Even if that's not the case, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has struggled to field a reliable defense for years now.
Stefanski, meanwhile, will likely make the same mistakes that haunted him in Cleveland. He brought some of his former assistant coaches with him to Atlanta, including offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, and he'll host another uninspiring quarterback competition between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa this summer.
Stefanski had some good moments in Cleveland, but his inability to make adjustments, micromanagement, and lack of accountability doomed him more often than not. Even with an improved supporting cast last season, he went from three to five wins, with two of them coming in Weeks 17 and 18.
For years, Browns fans had to deal with empty, PR-trained answers from Stefanski behind the podium, knowing that nothing was going to change from one Sunday to the next. Regardless of how Todd Monken fares in Cleveland, at least he's bringing some authenticity and a different approach to the table. He wants to build a winning culture, and for the players to show some pride and effort on every snap, even in practice.
He's been a breath of fresh air since arriving in Berea, quickly endearing himself to the fans, if only because he represents radical change from what they had been used to for half a decade. Whether this will also translate on the field is something that only time will tell, but the Browns' future certainly looks brighter, regardless of their 2026 record.
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