Should Kevin Stefanski Be On The Hot Seat In 2022?

Stefanski is the reigning NFL Coach of the Year.

He won that award after his rookie season.

While Stefanski had adversity in 2020 that he was able to work through while the Browns were winning, this season’s adversity accompanied a losing streak.

A losing streak in his sophomore season does not warrant him to be on the hot seat or on the verge of being fired.

The Browns spent years changing coaches, and that is a painful process that should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Stefanski remains a good coach who had some growing pains but deserves time to right the ship.

2. Career Regular Season Record Is 19-14

As mentioned before, Coach Stefanski is finishing only his second season as an NFL coach anywhere.

His prior experience was in various staff positions with the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2020, Stefanski got a new job with a brand new team.

Through two seasons, he has managed to stay above .500 and finish 19-14.

COVID-19, injuries, and other adversity have been in the mix during these two seasons so that is commendable especially with a franchise that once went 1-31 over two seasons.

In his end-of-season press conference, Stefanski talked about debriefing everyone to learn how to get better for next season.

He said:

“Learned a lot.  I think that’s what this week is about. Meeting with all the coaches…giving me their two cents on what worked, didn’t work. One of my main reflections, so disappointed you win 8, you lose 9.”

3. Needs More Time To Build The Team

Rarely does a rookie player peak in his first season or even his second.

It takes time to learn the role and to build and grow with it.

The same is true for head coaches and specifically Stefanski.

Though he seems to be an ultra-prepared person, nothing could prepare him for the events of this season.

The injuries and the issues with Odell Beckham Jr.

That is where the learning comes in.

Stefanski spoke of documenting the learnings in an improvement plan.

Every player and coach including himself has an improvement plan to work off of and reflect on during the offseason.

We will never know what exactly is in Coach Stefanski’s personal improvement plan, but we wonder if play-calling might be part of it.

He was challenged a lot during the season about his play calling.

Neither he nor Andrew Berry has given any indication that he will relinquish play calling.

If he does not give up playcalling, he needs to change his approach.

There were times when Stefanski abandoned the run and leaned heavily on an injured Mayfield, and those situations did not end well.

He was also accused of calling plays with the mindset of not losing instead of aggressively going for the win.

Stefanski’s playcalling must improve for the Browns to be more competitive in 2022; otherwise, he may find himself on the hot seat a year from now.