5 Browns Who Won't Be Back if Cleveland Misses the Playoffs

2. Kevin Stefanski...as the offensive play-caller

Although there could be a ton of coaching turnover around the league, I don't see how the Cleveland Browns could justify coming off of Kevin Stefanski given the amount of injuries this team has had to endure, and the coaching job he's done in spite of that. Stefanski is a good coach, and so is "offensive coordinator" Alex Van Pelt, but if the Browns miss the playoffs in 2023, I could see a scenario in which Van Pelt gets a promotion to truly coordinate the offense in 2024 as opposed to Stefanski.

There will likely be suitors for Van Pelt as so many teams change coaching staffs, so for the Browns to keep him around, they might have to give him an in-house promotion. If not, maybe the Browns truly pursue another option at OC for 2024.

3. Kareem Hunt, RB

I guess you could call this one low-hanging fruit, as I think there's a decent chance Kareem Hunt isn't back in Cleveland in 2024 regardless of whether or not the team makes the playoffs. Hunt was brought back to the Browns after Nick Chubb's injury, so operating under the assumption that Chubb is back in 2024, and with the way Jerome Ford has played this season, I don't think there's really any reason to bring Hunt back barring some kind of other-worldly run before the postseason.

Hunt was brought back to keep the Browns deep in the backfield and he has contributed six touchdowns, his most since 2020 (11). With that said, the Browns might be better off going with a back at some point in the NFL Draft to round out their depth at the position.