{"id":661165,"date":"2026-01-07T13:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/661165\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:09:11","slug":"will-the-browns-regret-firing-kevin-stefanski-some-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/661165\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Browns regret firing Kevin Stefanski some day?"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 As Kevin Stefanski interviews with the New York Giants, an uncomfortable question looms over the Browns<\/a> organization: Did Cleveland just fire a coach who will lead another team to a Super Bowl before the Browns get there themselves?<\/p>\n

On the latest Orange and Brown Talk podcast<\/a>, a listener posed this exact scenario to Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot, who didn\u2019t hesitate with her assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if Kevin Stefanski can be paired with a really good quarterback, then 100%, he can take a team to the Super Bowl. There\u2019s no question about that. I mean, we watched him in 2020 almost beat the Chiefs, right? I mean, they almost went to the AFC Championship Game here,\u201d Cabot stated emphatically.<\/p>\n

The discussion highlighted the remarkable resilience Stefanski showed throughout his Cleveland tenure, particularly in his final season. Despite the chaos surrounding Deshaun Watson\u2019s injury and the quarterback carousel that followed, Stefanski maintained his composure even as speculation about his job security intensified.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s unflappable. Kevin Stefanski is unflappable. You would think at some point after the game or in the days leading up to the game that we could have gotten him to crack the tiniest bit on the fact that he was about to lose his job that he has loved for six years here and we couldn\u2019t,\u201d Cabot observed.<\/p>\n

This poise under pressure might serve Stefanski well if he lands in a market like New York, where media scrutiny reaches another level. Having grown up in Philadelphia, Stefanski is no stranger to intense sports coverage \u2014 something that could prepare him for success with the Giants.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a fan of sports talk radio and all those Philly sports writers, and so he\u2019s used to that sort of thing. He was probably expecting more from us than we threw at him,\u201d Cabot noted.<\/p>\n

What makes the situation particularly concerning for Browns fans is how quickly the market has recognized Stefanski\u2019s value. Prior to John Harbaugh\u2019s availability, Stefanski was considered the top coaching candidate available. His interviews with the Giants and Titans suggest he won\u2019t remain unemployed for long.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also an intriguing connection between Stefanski and one of this year\u2019s top quarterback prospects. Cabot revealed: \u201cI remember being at the Senior Bowl with Kevin Stefanski and Bubba Ventrone was there coaching, and they really liked Jaxson Dart. They really liked him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Host Dan Labbe put the situation in perspective when discussing the potential for Stefanski to find success elsewhere: \u201cIf the Browns get their coaching hire right, it doesn\u2019t matter if Kevin Stefanski is good elsewhere, because they could be good, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Cabot emphasized that Cleveland is at a pivotal moment. With an elite defense already in place, finding the right coach-quarterback combination is paramount.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really mind blowing to even think about how crucial and important this hire is and this moment is in Cleveland Browns history, because they\u2019ve got this amazing defense and they\u2019ve got some really nice pieces on the other side of the ball that are just young guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Browns\u2019 decision to move on from Stefanski will ultimately be judged by two factors: how successful he becomes elsewhere, and whether their next coaching hire can finally deliver the Super Bowl that has eluded Cleveland for so long.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the podcast for this week:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Listen and subscribe to the Orange and Brown Talk podcast on Apple Podcasts<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial<\/a> of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 As Kevin Stefanski interviews with the New York Giants, an uncomfortable question looms over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,90036,85,54,58555,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-661165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-chicago-bears-2025","10":"tag-cleveland","11":"tag-cleveland-browns","12":"tag-cleveland-browns-2025","13":"tag-clevelandbrowns","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115853981460655484","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}