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Browns Get More Proof Kevin Stefanski Must Be Fired in Week 13 Loss

Every passing week makes it more and more clear that Kevin Stefanski is not the right head coach for the Cleveland Browns.

By Jason Schandl

Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Browns' Monday Night Football loss to the Denver Broncos was a frustrating one in Week 13, for sure. But the biggest issue I saw with that game wasn't the on-field product. Should Nick Chubb have played more? Should Kevin Stefanski have made a few decisions differently? Maybe, but those really aren't make-or-break factors when you're already 3-8 in a lost season.

What really stood out as the biggest issue is what went right for the Browns. It sent another crystal clear signal that Stefanski is just not the right man for this job.

Jameis Winston had his usual roller coaster type performance, but he also set a Browns franchise single-game record with 457 passing yards. Every single game Winston plays makes it more and more clear how egregious Stefanski's decision to stubbornly stick with Deshaun Watson has been.

Just consider some of these stats:

  • Jameis Winston and Joe Flacco have thrown for 300+ yards in 7 of their combined 10 starts
  • Deshaun Watson last threw for 300 yards on January 3, 2021 with the Houston Texans
  • With Watson starting and making it through at least 25% of the snaps the Browns are 5-7 over the last two seasons, topping 30 points in one of 12 games (8%)
  • Without Watson they're 9-8, topping 30 points in 5 of 17 (29%)
  • Deshaun Watson ranks No. 17 among Browns quarterbacks since 1999 with 177.1 passing yards per game
  • Joe Flacco ranks first (323.2) and if we only looked at starts, Jameis Winston would be ahead of even Flacco (336)

But even after the way Flacco outplayed Watson last year, Stefanski stuck with Watson. Was he convinced the injuries last year were the only issue for Deshaun? Was the contract too rich to not name him the Week 1 starter?

Whatever the case, it was absolutely inexcusable to stick with Watson for seven starts, dooming the team to a 1-6 start to the season. And the more we watch Winston thrive, the worse the decision looks.

Fans are able to see it clear as day in games, and it makes you wonder how much worse the decision would look if we were able to watch all of the practice reps too. There's just no way that Watson somehow looks like the real deal in practice then falls apart on gameday while the rest of the passers don't look as good at practice.

Andrew Berry takes some of the blame for having made the trade and given Watson the contract in the first place, but ultimately the head coach needs to make the right decisions on gameday, and Watson has never been the right decision.

The Watson contract will make this a hard rebuild for the Browns, and Stefanski is not the right man to coach them through it.

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