NFL insider addresses job-security rumors about Browns' Kevin Stefanski

Whispers emerged earlier this week suggesting that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam could fire head coach Kevin Stefanski if the Browns are blown out at home by the 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. 

According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, Haslam doesn't intend to make such a move ahead of the upcoming weekend. 

"There's a lot of people making noise about Kevin Stefanski being on the hot seat and I don't quite understand it," Schefter said during Thursday's edition of the "Get Up" program, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "...My understanding is they're not doing anything right now despite all the noise about the Browns potentially making a coaching change. Not happening."

Stefanski earned Associated Press Coach of the Year Award honors for the second time in his Cleveland tenure after he guided the 2023 Browns to a playoff berth even though starting quarterback Deshaun Watson missed over half the season because of a shoulder injury. However, Cleveland is entering Thurdsay's contest at 2-8, and Stefanski's inability to turn Watson back into an elite signal-caller before the 29-year-old went down with a ruptured Achilles last month caused some to say that Haslam could blow things up if things get ugly for the Browns in front of a prime-time audience. 

It remains to be seen if Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry will hold onto their jobs through this coming offseason, as the Browns seem stuck with what's left of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract they gave Watson in March 2022. While some believe Haslam wants to allow the Stefanski/Berry regime to spend a 2025 first-round draft pick on Watson's eventual replacement, ESPN's Matt Miller revealed on Thursday that "NFL decision-makers who I've talked to expect Cleveland to bring in a veteran to compete [with Watson] while using the draft to upgrade the roster at other spots" next year. 

Haslam may still believe Stefanski and Berry can ultimately right the ship, but history shows owners often change their minds regarding such matters if a team becomes a total embarrassment by the end of a season. Stefanski may not be coaching for his job at a potentially snowy Huntington Bank Field on Thursday night, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll survive the NFL's "Black Monday" this coming January.