The Cleveland Browns are among a handful of NFL teams poised as potential candidates for a new head coach come 2026, as Kevin Stefanski has come under repeated fire for how poorly things have gone since the team’s last playoff appearance following the 2023 campaign.
Quarterback Joe Flacco led Cleveland to the No. 5 seed that postseason before the Houston Texans stomped the Browns on Super Wildcard Weekend and sent the franchise reeling back into old patterns of losing. Cleveland won three games last season and has three wins this year. After six seasons at the helm and no definitive answer in sight under center, Stefanski could be on his way out come the spring.
However, Jeremy Folwer of ESPN said that both of the current teams with job openings come 2026 would be potentially interested in becoming Stefanski’s next destination.
Read More: Titans’ Cam Ward Reveals Firm Stance on Shedeur Sanders Relationship
“Several executives and coaches I’ve spoken to believe he’d be a prime candidate for a head coaching job elsewhere should Cleveland move on after the season,” Fowler wrote Wednesday, Dec 3. “The two jobs currently open (Giants and Titans) could use a mix of offensive acumen and experience, a mold that Stefanski fits.”
Stefanski is 43-53 with the Browns, though he is 6-23 over the past two seasons. Stefanski has two 11-win years on his resumé, winning the NFL Coach of the Year award in both campaigns. Those were also the two years that the Browns made the playoffs, going 1-2 in those trips.
It is unclear how much blame fans should put on Stefanski for the Browns’ decision to bail on former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, who has led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to back-to-back NFC South Division titles and playoff berths, in favor of arguably the worst contract in league history ($230 million fully guaranteed over five years) for Deshaun Watson, who has turned out to be an all-time bust in Cleveland after an excellent start to his career in Houston.
Team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam certainly played a significant role in that decision, which was accompanied by a horrific trade that included three first-round picks and several other draft assets, as did general manager Andrew Berry.
The Browns also ditched Flacco after a 4-1 run to end the 2023 season in favor of Watson, then traded him after a month this year in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel. Flacco went on to put up some prolific statistics with the Cincinnati Bengals following the trade, though it didn’t translate to victories.
Stefanski has caught the majority of his heat this season for the team’s win/loss record as well as the decision to hold off on playing rookie QB Shedeur Sanders until Dillon Gabriel went down with a concussion at halftime of Cleveland’s Week 11 contest against the Baltimore Ravens.
Read More: Dillon Gabriel’s Fiancée Stirs Up New Shedeur Sanders Controversy