Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is one of the best in the NFL at what he does, as evidenced by his pair of Coach of the Year awards, and while there were whispers that he might get fired after last year’s debacle, he is, thankfully, still in charge and ready to turn this team around again in 2025.
As excited as everybody is to put last year behind them, there are still major concerns about this organization, and one insider recently shut down a big one regarding Stefanski.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot recently stopped by The Ken Carman Show and said that while Stefanski isn’t on the hot seat going into next season, the organization is aligned with the goal of seeing what Stefanski can do once the team finds its franchise QB.
“When you look at it from the outside looking in, I could see why people might feel that way, but if you really understand and know what this team is doing right now, then you can kind of remove him from the hot seat this year. They’re looking at this as a two-year plan to find their quarterback of the future. You show me an NFL coach who has won consistently without a good starting quarterback, and the list has to be very small. They want to see what Kevin can do once he has his quarterback of the future. I don’t think that he’s on the hot seat right now,” Cabot said.
"They're looking at this as a 2 year plan trying to find their QB... They want to see what Kevin can do once they find their QB of the future"
📞 @MaryKayCabot says Kevin Stefanski is not necessarily on the hot seat going into next season👀
🔊: https://t.co/cv6axeFz0x pic.twitter.com/sk26rCH7Yk— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 10, 2025
Stefanski has earned himself the benefit of the doubt because there was nothing he could do about the quarterback situation in recent years, since the Deshaun Watson trade has been a dumpster fire.
Cleveland started five quarterbacks in 2023 and somehow won 11 games and made the playoffs, though starting four quarterbacks in 2024 led to a 3-win season.
It’s likely Stefanski will start multiple QBs again in 2025 because there is a need to figure out if the Browns’ next franchise quarterback is currently on the roster, or if that QB is in the 2026 draft
Cleveland has two first-rounders in 2026, and it is projected to be a loaded QB class, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Even though things are messy at the moment, the team is in good hands with Stefanski, and he should be kept around as long as possible.