Browns Coach in Danger of Being Fired by Kevin Stefanski After Repeated Mistakes

The Cleveland Browns season has not gone as planned. While there were questions about how the offense would look heading into the season, the other two phases, defense and special teams, were expected to be strong.

Unfortunately, the Browns' defense has taken a step back this season, which has hurt their chances to win games. Meanwhile, the Browns special teams unit has been decent for most of the season, but recent special teams blunders have got fans talking about firing special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone.

Browns Rumors: Is Bubba Ventrone in Danger of Being Fired From the Browns?

Over the past three weeks, the Browns special teams unit has missed three field goals and muffed two punts. Kicker Dustin Hopkins is responsible for those misses and is typically reliable. Before those three misses Hopkins was 16-22 on the season, missing four field goals from 50+ yards, one field goal from 40-49 yards, and one field goal from 20-29 yards.

Hopkins' most recent misses were from 37, 38, and 43 yards. Although those kicks are all certainly in Hopkins' range, him missing the kicks still reflects poorly on Ventrone, especially with the muffed punts the Browns have had in back-to-back weeks.

In Week 14, Kadarius Toney was named the Browns punt returner and ended up muffing a punt in the fourth quarter.

In addition to Toney's muff, he received a 15-yard taunting penalty after the play. Both of Toney's blunders reflect poorly on Ventrone. First off, the job of the special teams coach is to make sure returners are equipped to make a return.

Secondly, Toney's penalty shows a lack of discipline, which is another aspect Ventrone should be instilling in his unit. The fact that this happened on his watch is not a good look.

Luckily, after Toney's mess ups, the Browns cut him. Despite Toney being cut, the Browns nearly had another muffed punt this week against the Chiefs. Fortunately, this time around, return man James Proche was able to make up for his own mistake by jumping back on the ball.

If Proche failed to do that, there may be even more of an uproar to fire Ventrone. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if any changes to the special teams staff are made before the season's end or in the offseason.

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