Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski faces significant pressure heading into the 2025 NFL season after a poor 3-14 season that resulted in the franchise’s second overall draft pick. The two-time Coach of the Year has found himself in a difficult situation as suspicion regarding his job security grows, according to Pro Football Focus.
Stefanski’s tenure in Cleveland was marked by both success and inconsistency. During his five seasons with the Browns, he has led them to a 40-44 record, including a postseason triumph and two playoff berths. Despite his relative accomplishments in comparison to his predecessors, another losing season could mean the end of his time with the team.
Stefanski deserves credit for his ability to elicit peak performance from squads that frequently lacked elite talent at many spots. However, his earlier success was eclipsed by a disastrous 2024 season.
In 2024, the Browns had the NFL’s poorest offense, owing primarily to the league’s lowest-ranked passing attack, which was spearheaded by four separate ineffectual starting quarterbacks. Furthermore, although just playing eight games, running back Nick Chubb was far from his pre-injury form, prompting the team to part ways with him at the end of the season.
Cleveland’s elite 2023 defense was merely ordinary in 2024, possibly due to a mix of injuries, natural regression, or overcompensating for a stalled offense. Even the Browns’ special teams struggled, with generally reliable kicker Dustin Hopkins missing one-third of his field goal attempts and 15% of his extra-point efforts.
Stefanski begins 2025 without a starting quarterback, leaving him to manage a high-profile four-way quarterback rivalry between veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, as well as newcomers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Deshaun Watson is also out while rehabbing from an Achilles injury, but he wants to return later this season, adding to the uncertainty in a position group that already lacks answers.
But a new season brings hope—along with great expectations. Stefanski will regain play-calling duties this season after ceding them in 2024, and the Browns added important defenders and a replacement for Chubb throughout the offseason, as well as granting a long-term contract agreement to top edge rusher Myles Garrett. Still, Stefanski is under pressure to turn things around soon for the sake of both the Browns franchise and the head coach’s future in Cleveland.
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