Kevin Stefanski Falcons Hire Is An Incredible Mistake

Stefanski won his first COTY award in his first season with the Browns. He was fresh off his only season as an offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, and the Browns had gone 6-10 the previous year. They went 11-5 in 2020, but statistically, they didn’t do much to impress. They had the league’s 14th-best scoring offense (25.5) and the 21st-ranked scoring defense (26.2). That’s right! The Browns allowed more points than they scored, and Stefanski won coach of the year.

The Kansas City Chiefs went 14-2 in 2020, featuring the league’s 6th-ranked offense (29.6) and 10th-ranked defense (22.6). Did Andy Reid not get the award because he had the best quarterback in the NFL? What was the excuse for not giving it to Sean Payton then? The Saints went 12-4 (more wins than Cleveland) under his leadership, and they featured the league’s 5th-best scoring offense (30.1) and the 5th-best scoring defense (21.1). Top five in both, and the league gave it to theguy who was middle of the pack in both categories?

2023

Stefanski wins 11 games again in 2023, and again, he is given the coach of the year award. His team’s stats were a little better this time around (at least they weren’t outscored). The Browns featured the 10th-best scoring offense in the NFL (23.3) and the 13th-best scoring defense (21.3). Being that close to the top 10 in both categories should justify his victory, right?

The issue in 2023 is that there were four coaches who had better seasons than Stefanski. Sean McDermott matched his 11 wins with the Buffalo Bills, but his offense was ranked sixth overall (26.5) and his defense was fourth (18.3). Once again, a coach who was top five in both did not win the award. McDermott is not alone in just that season. John Hatbaugh went 13-4, and featured the number four scoring offense (28.4) and number one defense (16.5). Mike McCarthy led the 12-5 Dallas Cowboys to the number one offense (29.9) and number five defense (18.5).

Finally, Kyle Shanahan went 12-5 with the 49ers and had the third-ranked offense (28.9) and defense (17.5). How did Stefanski beat all of these coaches in two separate years? Because he was the coach of the Cleveland Browns. In the city that rocks, if the team wins 10 or more games, that coach supposedly deserves the award, no matter how ugly the season is. How pitiful does the league think that team is?

End Of My Kevin Stefanski Falcons Rant

Stefanski did not deserve his coach of the year awards, and he certainly didn’t deserve another head coaching job a few months after finishing 5-12. He probably shouldn’t have even been hired as a coordinator. He must be the world’s best interviewee. The Falcons are now handing over a team with the league’s best young talent to the most unqualified head coach in the league. The question is, should Stefanski win 10 games next year and average fewer points than he allows, will he win his third Coach of the Year award?