Browns media puts Kevin Stefanski on the hot seat: Why he won’t get fired

Running Kevin Stefanski out of town is a great way for the Cleveland Browns to be awful again.

While some members of the Cleveland Browns media are starting to turn on head coach Kevin Stefanski, firing him would be the worst thing they could possibly do this offseason.

Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal put Stefanski to task in her latest column on Tuesday. Yes, the road loss to the Atlanta Falcons was bad, but not all of the Browns’ issues fall on Stefanski. Although he made some questionable decisions throughout the game, it is not like the Falcons are a worthless bag of crap. They play incredibly hard for their head coach Arthur Smith.

Even if Cleveland squandered the softest part of its schedule to be 2-2 roughly a quarter of the way through the season, here is why putting Stefanski on the hot seat would be the latest bad idea put forth by the Browns organization.

Be careful what you wish for, Browns fans and local media…

Cleveland Browns media is starting to turn on head coach Kevin Stefanski

Alright, hear me out on this. What if I told you Cleveland lost on the road to the best head coach in the NFC South? Keep in mind that Bruce Arians and Sean Payton no longer run the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. We have seen Todd Bowles fizzle out in New York and Dennis Allen be an unmitigated disaster in Oakland. And let’s not get started on NFL Matt Rhule…

A big reason why the Falcons are 2-2 is they have an offensive identity, which is ground-and-pound to Smith’s liking. The former UNC guard likes using the run to open up the pass. Just look at all the success he had during his decade-long run with the Tennessee Titans. The former offensive coordinator was a part of three different coaching staffs while in Nashville. That speaks volumes.

Did the Browns sleep on the Falcons? Oh yeah, big time, but that is not the point. What is the point is why would you want to get rid of your best head coach since at least Butch Davis, possibly the best since Bill Belichick, and maybe, just maybe, the best since the late, great Marty Schottenheimer? The roster may be underachieving, but Cleveland has to remember who they are.

Even if Stefanski has not been outstanding as a head coach since the COVID season, keep in mind that he will be unemployed for less than a second if he were to be whacked. This is an offensive-minded league. Even as a retread, he would be leading a team next year in spite of Cleveland if he was axed. And if the Browns fire him, who are they bringing in? This is not a desirable job, folks…

The other wrinkle people are somehow forgetting about is this. Stefanski is being tasked with winning games in an incredibly tough division with a journeyman quarterback in Jacoby Brissett. Yes, the Browns are getting Deshaun Watson back in December, but that is the other reason why things have not gone swimmingly for Cleveland thus far. The Watson trade was a huge distraction.

Ultimately, the Haslams would be beyond foolish to can Stefanski after this season. If he is clearly the problem next year, then by all means, go get yourself the next guy who thinks he can win big in Cleveland with Watson as his quarterback. In the meantime, let’s not be overly reactionary when it comes to judging a team who will be up totally against it trying to make the AFC playoffs anyway.

While it is okay to be unhappy about the situation in Cleveland, you cannot sack Stefanski already.