Is Browns' Kevin Stefanski on hot seat after surprising Joe Flacco trade?

The Cleveland Browns' surprising trade of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals left rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as the only active signal-callers on the Cleveland roster. 

It also sparked new conversations regarding whether or not Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski could be shown the door if his offense doesn't improve with either Gabriel or Sanders in the lineup. During the latest edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast," Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested that team owner Jimmy Haslam isn't thinking about moving on from Stefanski this fall. 

Browns reporter addresses Kevin Stefanski hot-seat chatter

"It would be interesting to see what he could do with a good, healthy quarterback," Cabot said about Stefanski. "And I don’t know that we’ve seen that that much. Kevin really hasn’t had a normal quarterback situation here except for that one year. So I don’t think necessarily the Browns are ready to chuck him overboard. I don’t think he’s on the hot seat." 

Cabot was referencing how Stefanski and Baker Mayfield guided the 2020 Browns to a playoff berth and a postseason victory. The following September, Mayfield suffered a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in Week 2 of the 2021 campaign that impacted his play throughout that season. In March 2022, the Browns replaced Mayfield with Deshaun Watson by handing Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract to accept a trade from the Houston Texans.

Was Deshaun Watson's shoulder not 100 percent before Achilles injuries?

Watson spent the first 11 regular-season games of his Browns tenure serving a suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. An injury to his throwing shoulder that left him needing surgery prematurely ended his 2023 campaign, and he then suffered a torn Achilles tendon in October 2024. Watson reinjured that same Achilles tendon during his recovery and remains on the physically unable to perform list. 

"Even when he came back last year, there were so many extenuating circumstances," Cabot said about Watson during the podcast. "His shoulder was not ready." 

Stefanski is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year Award winner, but his teams went 4-18 from Week 1 of the 2024 season up through the moment the Browns agreed to ship Flacco to the Bengals. History shows veteran players often lose faith in a coach with such a poor record, regardless of his prior accomplishments. 

Meanwhile, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned on Wednesday that people close to Watson "were optimistic over the summer that he’d be cleared in late October or early November." The Browns enter their bye week after they play at the New England Patriots on Oct. 26. 

"If I were the Browns," Breer explained, "based on the $46M they have tied up in Watson for 2026, I think I’d be pretty tempted to take another look at Watson before the year is out." 

Perhaps making room for Watson on the active roster will prove to be a decision that saves Stefanski's job through at least Week 18 of this season.