If there is one team that I was the most wrong about in the 2024 season, it is easily the Cleveland Browns. I thought they had a chance to be right in the thick of the AFC North and competing at the top of the conference with a healthier team, but they are an abysmal 2-7 at the midway point of the season. Apparently they aren’t going to follow some of the other NFL bottom feeders this year by shaking up their coaching staff.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked if they were contemplating any major changes during the bye week, coaching staff or otherwise.
“No, but we’ll look at everything in terms of what we can do better,” Stefanski said via the Browns’ YouTube channel. “But no major changes expected.”
Just a couple weeks ago, they made a fairly major change with Stefanski handing over the offensive play-calling duties to Ken Dorsey. He is the offensive coordinator, but they had a setup similar to the Steelers’ defense where Mike Tomlin is calling the shots over the coordinator. After a poor start, Stefanski relinquished those responsibilities. It paid off with a big win over the Baltimore Ravens, but the Brown came crashing back to earth with a 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Las Vegas Raiders just fired their offensive coordinator and multiple offensive assistants, and the New Orleans Saints canned head coach Dennis Allen. It’s fair to wonder who is next, and the Browns have been one of the biggest underachievers this season.
The Browns are in a very interesting spot. On one hand, Stefanski is held in pretty high regard with two NFL Coach of the Year awards over the last four seasons. He helped turn the Browns from a perennial last-place team into a playoff contender. But there is a massive cloud of dread hanging over the organization with Deshaun Watson looking like a massive waste of money and a player they are financially tied to for years to come.
Stefanski probably earned himself the right to not get fired in the middle of a season, but will he be safe once the season is over? It could be time for large changes in Cleveland yet again.
