Why Kevin Stefanski finds himself on the hot seat after Browns 1-4 start

The Browns suffered another crushing loss on Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings in a game in which Cleveland led for a majority of the game. With the Browns falling to 1-4 on the season, and their team still unable to make a noticeable weekly improvement as a whole; is it time to have a conversation about the current state of head coach Kevin Stefanski’s job?

Stefanski is in his sixth year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, accumulating an all-time record of 41 wins to 48 losses since 2020. While Stefanski has coached his team to two playoff appearances, he hasn’t been able to replicate those same results in the past two seasons.

Like many other coaches of Cleveland’s past, Stefanski has had to navigate through their season with a change at quarterback at some point almost every year. This does lighten the case for Stefanski’s job security. Realistically speaking, how long can that be used as the scapegoat to remain as the Cleveland Browns head coach?

Many have speculated how much more it could take for a change to be made, including former Browns quarterback Robert Griffin lll, on whether or not Stefanski is still thought of as the head coach when talks of the future outlook of the Browns are discussed.

A two-time coach of the year recipient, Stefanski's time as head coach has had its share of ups and downs but now finds himself in the conversation of coaches on the hot seat entering week six, according to Sports Illustrated.

One of the most important aspects to consider in this case is whether or not Stefanski has the utmost respect for every player in his locker room, and while his players have spoken highly of him in the past, his weekly postgame comments consistently revolve around the need for better overall play from all three phases of their team.

A few of Stefanski’s quotes include, “we expect our guys to do their job… and we just didn’t come through at that moment”, “we need to focus on playing better offense, defense, special teams… we need to score more points than we’re scoring right now."

With comments regarding the need specifically for their offense to play better and score more points, one fact stands out amongst the rest in just how poor their offense has performed dating back to last season.

From ESPN Research: The Browns have scored 17 or fewer points in 10 straight games dating back to last season, tied for the longest streak in franchise history (1975).

It’s the longest streak by any team since the 2007 49ers (9). The last 10-game streak was by the 2000-01…
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) October 5, 2025

With ranks in almost every major offensive category near the worst in the league, backed by exceptional defensive play in most of their games, it’s quite the conundrum dissecting where their offensive struggles stem from.

Whether it’s instability at the quarterback position, injuries galore, or poor play altogether, the accountability starts at the top with Stefanski desperately needing to get his team on the same page, in hopes of turning these concerning statistics into points of praise in the future if he hopes to remain the head coach of the Browns.

The Browns head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in their first meeting of the season in week six; a place where the Browns have yet to win a regular season game in over twenty years.