Second thoughts: At 2-7, Kevin Stefanski’s seat might be getting hotter inside the building

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Second thoughts on Jets 27, Browns 20 …

1. On Monday, Brian Daboll followed Brian Callahan as the second NFL head coach fired this season. Good thing Kevin Stefanski’s parents didn’t name him Brian. Daboll was 20-41-1 (.330) with one wild-card appearance in 3+ seasons with the New York Giants. Callahan was 4-19 (.174) in 1+ seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Stefanski is 42-53 with two wild-card appearances and two coach-of-the-year awards in 5+ seasons. But his 5-21 (.192) record over the past 1+ seasons and the overall lack of improvement in penalties, unsmart football, special teams breakdowns, offensive ineptitude and inability to win on the road have made Stefanski’s job security a daily topic. Plus, the departure of chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, who twice recommended him for the job and thus was his strongest advocate in the organization, lifted a security net beneath Stefanski.

2. There is no sign from ownership if Stefanski’s seat is as hot internally as it is externally. There are always mitigating circumstances involving the coach of the Browns under the Haslam ownership. Such as, ongoing quarterback issues. The latest was Stefanski being saddled with two rookie quarterbacks taken in the middle rounds after management deviated from its plan and decided to trade 1. Kenny Pickett, and then, 2. Joe Flacco – the two veterans to whom Stefanski and his staff devoted most of the first-team reps in training camp. Yes, instability at quarterback has been a bane to Stefanski. Dillon Gabriel is the 12^th QB to start a game for him through his sixth season. But the other issues are very real and are not going away even if Stefanski survives this season and lives to break in a 13^th starting QB next year. At the last availability in front of local media in training camp, Jimmy Haslam declined to define his idea of a successful season. “We got to do better than three [wins], OK?” Haslam said. “To put a number on it, I don’t think we will ever do that. Everybody, coaches, players, personnel, ownership, all know that 3-14 won’t cut it. We’ve got to do better. I think we’ll know what better looks like.” Stefanski takes a 2-7 record in the Baltimore Ravens game on Sunday.

3. Stefanski said after the loss to the Jets that Gabriel would remain his starter  Sunday against the Ravens. Which means that Gabriel will be the sixth consecutive game a different quarterback has started for the Browns against the Ravens. In reverse chronology, Flacco started in Game 2 (41-17 loss) this season, Bailey Zappe in Game 17 (35-10 loss) in 2024, Jameis Winston in Game 8 (29-24 win) in 2024, Deshaun Watson in Game 9 (33-31 win) in 2023, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Game 4 (28-3 loss) in 2023. Watson and Jacoby Brissett started the Baltimore games in 2022. So the last Browns QB to start both Baltimore games in the same season was Baker Mayfield in 2021.

4. While Stefanski endorsed Gabriel as his starter, he was particularly vague speaking on the QB situation on Monday. Gabriel certainly showed some improvement in his fifth start (two TDs, no interceptions, 20 points total against the last-place Jets), but Stefanski refrained from any praise of him. “I think with young quarterbacks, it’s understanding that there’s going to be ups and downs,” he said. “You know, can Dillon play better? Yes, he can. Can we play better around him? Yes, we can. Can we coach him better? Yes, we can. So, I understand the question, but I just trust that our young players at every position, and certainly at the quarterback position, are guys that are going to work their tails off to get better every single day.” Asked what’s the timetable on getting Shedeur Sanders his first game action of the season, Stefanski hedged, “Yeah, I don’t think it’s fair to speculate. We’re committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committing to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, young players, are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they’re getting better on a daily basis.”

5. The clock is yet to start ticking on a possible return to the field of Deshaun Watson. Once Watson is medically cleared to practice, it opens a 21-day window for Watson to be activated or remain on an injury list the rest of the year. Asked if Watson might receive clearance to practice this week, Stefanski said, “I’m not sure if that’s what we’re doing.”

6. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger’s return from a high ankle sprain in the Patriots game was remarkable. Schwesinger used the bye week to intensify his rehab and was on the field against the Jets for 100% of the 49 defensive snaps and also eight snaps on special teams. Schwesinger, as usual, led the Browns in tackles with nine and added a partial sack, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and one tackle on special teams. “He has Wolverine blood, I believe,” Stefanski joked of Schwesinger’s return from a high ankle sprain in about half the normal minimum time. “The kid’s playing at an extremely high level. For him to come back from that injury and perform like he did, it was incredible to watch. And really, throughout that bye week, he just kept getting better and better, and you felt like there’d be a chance of him playing. So listen, I have not looked around the league at how other guys are playing and that type of thing, but I’d be hard pressed to believe there’s a defensive player as a rookie that’s playing better than him. And then factor in what he came back from, it’s pretty remarkable.” According to NFL.com, Schwesinger’s 74 tackles rank 18^th in the NFL (Miami linebacker Jordyn Brooks is first with 105) and first among rookies. Schwesinger also is second on the Browns with 508 snaps on defense. Safety Ronnie Hickman is first with 522.