Kevin Stefanski, former coach of the Cleveland Browns
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Kevin Stefanski, former coach of the Cleveland Browns
The Atlanta Falcons are in the beginning stages of a new regime. They’ve hired a new general manager, created a new president of football position, and brought in Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach.
Stefanski hopes to accomplish what the last two Falcons head coaches haven’t — make the playoffs. Dating back to Dan Quinn’s final three seasons, Atlanta has now missed the postseason for eight straight years.
That puts immediate pressure on the former Cleveland Browns coach to deliver — even in his first season.
Stefanski’s hire was largely viewed as one of the better ones this cycle. Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano ranked it second, just behind the New York Giants’ hire of John Harbaugh.
“The Falcons are a team loaded with offensive talent that seemed wasted and misused under Raheem Morris. It’s a big reason why, maybe more than any other club, they needed an offensive-minded head coach. And Stefanski is one of the best, despite what happened during his last two ugly seasons in Cleveland (8-26),” Vacchiano wrote.
But the recent NFLPA report cards may cast a different light on that optimism.
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NFLPA Report Cards Cast Shadow on Falcons’ Kevin Stefanski Hire
For the fourth straight season, the NFLPA released team report cards for all 32 teams — and Stefanski’s grade from his final year in Cleveland raises eyebrows.
He received a C-, the lowest grade of any head coach in the league, according to The Athletic.
Former Browns offensive coordinator — now Falcons offensive coordinator — Tommy Rees graded even lower with a D+. Only the Los Angeles Chargers’ Greg Roman (D-) and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Chip Kelly (F) graded worse among coordinators.
To be fair, not much graded well for Cleveland after a 5-12 season. Still, that doesn’t make the numbers disappear. They had just one F, which was for locker room, but it was mostly C’s and D’s across the board.
Still, Stefanski is the first hire of this new front office led by Matt Ryan. If this doesn’t work, it won’t just be another bad season — it could mean yet another reset for Atlanta.
Falcons Graded Well — But Is That Enough?
For comparison’s sake, Raheem Morris graded out better than Stefanski with a B+.
As for the Falcons’ own NFLPA report card, Atlanta fared well overall.
Their lowest grades were C- marks for home field and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Atlanta received five A’s — including one for owner Arthur Blank — along with two A- grades, one B, and six B+ marks.
Yes, these grades are subjective and based on player feedback through the NFLPA. But they still reflect how players view leadership, structure and culture.
So, even though the Falcons graded well, the question now becomes whether they just attached that culture to a head coach coming off the lowest grade in the league.
There’s always room for improvement but if this hire misfires, Atlanta won’t just be tweaking things in the near future — they’ll be starting all over again.