Bubba Ventrone's former teammate defends Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator

A lot went wrong for the Cleveland Browns during their 27-20 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, but the most significant area of concern was special teams.

The Browns allowed two touchdowns on special teams, both of which occurred in the first half. In the first quarter, they surrendered a kickoff return touchdown to Kene Nwangwu, and later on, they gave up a punt return touchdown to Isaiah Williams.

Following the game, many fans were demanding the dismissal of special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, but his former teammate Josh Cribbs stepped up to defend him.

"That ain't Bubba Ventrone's special teams unit," Cribbs said Thursday during "The Top Dawg Show" on the BIGPLAY Sports Network. "They don't speak for him. He knows what to do, they're just not doing what he says to do."

"That ain't Bubba Ventrone's special teams unit. They don't speak for him. He knows what to do, they're just not doing what he says to do." #DawgPound @JoshCribbs16 will NOT be pointing fingers at Bubba Ventrone.

Win a FREE Bath: https://t.co/un4roGElkE pic.twitter.com/hIXR2sXUAU
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) November 13, 2025

Cribbs and Ventrone played together on the Browns from 2009 to 2012, and if anyone knows about special teams, it would be Cribbs, who is one of the best kick returners in NFL history.

Even though the special teams didn't have a good outing, head coach Kevin Stefanski still has faith in Ventrone.

“Yeah, listen, I have a ton of faith in Bubba," Stefanski said on Monday. "I have a ton of faith in our special teams. We have to be better, that’s the case. There are ways that we can try to be better. We’ll continue to coach our guys hard; we’ll continue to give them the techniques to use. But I trust our guys, I trust that we’ll get back to work.”

Ventrone knows the special team needs to improve and told the media on Thursday that the team needs to stop making careless mistakes.

"We need to do a better job," Ventrone said, via The Athletic's Zac Jackson. "Haven't played near our capabilities. Just too many dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb mistakes."

Bubba Ventrone: "We need to do a better job. Haven't played near our capabilities. Just too many dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb mistakes."
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) November 13, 2025

Despite the Browns struggling on special teams this past Sunday, Pro Football Focus still ranks them as the fourth-best special teams unit in the NFL.

If the Browns want to turn around their fortunes over the next eight games, they can’t afford to give up touchdowns on special teams.

Cleveland's offense struggles to put points on the board, and it's unable to play catch-up when the special teams are giving up touchdowns.

The Browns will host the Ravens on Sunday, and given how well Baltimore has been performing in recent weeks, Cleveland can’t afford to give up any easy special teams touchdowns.