The Cleveland Browns fired their head coach Kevin Stefanski after yet another poor season. The Browns ended up last in the AFC North and had a disappointing 5-12 record. They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season while also performing underwhelmingly.
This led to Stefanski losing his job and they have now hired Todd Monken as their new head coach. New developments now explain why the previous coach did not manage to succeed in his job.
Kevin Stefanski was disliked by his players
Stefanski had an overall dismal 8-26 record and ended up last in their division in both of the last two seasons. Despite being a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year award recipient, he could not inspire the team to success on the field.
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski hangs his head during the second half as his team trails the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 21, 2025, in Cleveland.© Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski hangs his head during the second half as his team trails the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 21, 2025, in Cleveland.© Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The coach also had problems in the locker room, and it is said that he was not respected by his players. This is supported by the latest NFL Players Association’s annual report cards from the 2025 season, which was released despite opposition from various franchise owners. He received the lowest grade among all 32 NFL head coaches with a C-, the only coach to get that grade. The survey is anonymous and evaluates coaches on leadership, accountability, and locker room support.
ESPN Cleveland highlighted this during a recent interview with local radio host HammerNation19. He said regarding Stefanski, “I like Kevin but that just tells you one of the reasons why the Browns fired Kevin Stefanski is that his players did not like him.”
He added that Myles Garrett probably didn’t support him, “In particular, I’m guessing that 95 didn’t exactly have his back correct going through this whole thing. I think he lost the locker room as evidenced by the vote of the players in the NFLPA leaked report cards.” Stefanski has now moved on from the Browns, though he recently talked about one former Browns player.
Kevin Stefanski talks about Shedeur Sanders
After losing the Browns head coaching job, he quickly joined the Atlanta Falcons as their head coach. In a recent interview with Pardon My Take, the 43-year-old talked about his former quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Stefanski had to rely on the rookie as his starting quarterback as both Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel were not available.
Many speculated that he really didn’t want to give Sanders much playing time. He said regarding Sanders, “I love Shedeur. I loved coaching him, seriously. He’s got the right makeup for this game; he was wired the right way. I wish that we won more obviously, but if you saw how he played down the stretch, I mean, he’s a young player that’s getting better.”
Kevin Stefanski will focus on the Falcons and hope he can get them to perform well in the 2026 season.