Cleveland Browns will finish with yet another losing season under Kevin Stefanski

While Kevin Stefanksi has had success coaching the Cleveland Browns, could his time as head coach be coming to an end?

Nov 16, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on the sidelines during warmups prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

When Shedeur Sanders made his first start in Las Vegas last week and led the Browns to a victory, there was much hope and optimism around the team. 

Sanders made his second start on Sunday afternoon, a home matchup versus the 8-4 San Francisco 49ers. The first half was shaping up well as Sanders threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr., and Quinshon Judkins ran in the two-point conversion to give Cleveland the lead 8-7. 

After that point, though, it was all San Francisco as they closed the game with 19 unanswered points from the end of the second quarter until the finish. The 49ers used mishaps like two fumbles from Fannin and Gage Larvadain to set them up with great field position and capitalize, scoring touchdowns off of both of those turnovers. 

The 49ers finished off the Browns 26-8 in the final score, plummeting the Browns to 3-9 on the season. That means Cleveland will finish with another losing season under Kevin Stefanski's helm, making it his fourth in six seasons coaching the team. 

Your first reaction to that news might be to just fire Stefanski, but the problem is that in the other two seasons the Browns made the playoffs, and Stefanski won Coach of the Year in the NFL. 

The topic of firing Stefanski or keeping him around is a tough one to judge. For most people, it is very cut and dry; he is not getting it done currently, and he didn’t get it done last year, so he needs to be gone. For others, they realize that the quarterback situation in Cleveland is very subpar for this season, to have two rookies and an older quarterback, and last season with Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jameis Winston, and Bailey Zappe. 

Both things can be true, though. Do the Browns have enough talent now to have more than three wins? Yes. Has Stefanski led the Browns to some of their best seasons in 20 years? Also yes. Stefanksi now has a 43-53 record with Cleveland over his six seasons; those 43 wins put him at 5th all-time in Browns history for a head coach. 

This Browns team is a young one, especially in terms of offensive weapons.

Two rookie quarterbacks, two rookie running backs, their top receiver in receptions and receiving yards is rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. On the defensive end, Myles Garrett is obviously the leader, but Carson Schwesinger is running away with Defensive Rookie of the Year, top-five pick Mason Graham seems to get better every week on the inside, and defensive ends Isaiah McGuire and Alex Wright are trending towards double-digit tackle for loss seasons, while both are 25 years old and under. 

So the Browns are a year or two away from skyrocketing. Who do you want to be manning the team? The answer will most definitely come after this season.