Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has been more sociable with the players this season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Daniel Oyefusi published an autopsy detailing how the Browns’ season went off the rails. The piece is long and informative, but can be summed up with Murphy’s law, the simple cliche, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
The piece had interesting tidbits about Stefanski’s relationship with the team. Stefanski was more personable and involved this year. The stoic coach has overseen the offense since his start in Cleveland but has left the team’s locker room to the players as the team has succeeded. Players appreciated their independence, but some players thought the coach lacked warmth in their relationships.
Stefanski took a more active role at the beginning of the year when he shared a story during a bonding exercise during the team’s training camp at The Greenbrier resort. This was the first year Stefanski participated in the team exercises.
Stefanski has spent the year transitioning into a CEO-style head coach who oversees and organizes the entire team. Stefanski gave up play calling to help facilitate this transition. He spent more time in position meetings, instead of reviewing the game plan with the quarterbacks. Bitonio said Stefanski was a constant fixture in the offensive line meeting room over the past two months.
The Browns will bring back Stefanski next year after this disastrous season. It will be interesting to see how Stefanski’s role changes. Will he continue overseeing the entire team or dedicate his time to get the offense humming? There’s no right or wrong way to coach, Stefanski needs to find a system that works for him and the team. The Browns are expecting to reload for the 2025 NFL season.