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Daniel Oyefusi, ESPN
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday that he is not concerned about rumors that he is on the “hot bench” amid his team’s 2-8 start to the season.
The Browns are off to their worst start since 2017, when the team went 0-17, and in recent weeks there has been speculation on local Cleveland radio about Stefanski’s job security.
“I think it’s probably because I grew up listening [Philadelphia radio]”I’m smart enough to not worry about outside noise,” Stefanski said. “I understand that’s part of this job. That’s life in the big city. My only goal is to prepare this team to get a win on Thursday night. That’s all.”
Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, who joined the organization before the 2020 season, signed extensions in June after leading the Browns to their second playoff appearance in four years. The Browns did not disclose the length of those extensions. Stefanski won his second NFL Coach of the Year award last season for his efforts in guiding an injury-plagued team back to the postseason.
Cleveland, however, has regressed since its 11-win season last year. The Browns, with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, would record their 22nd losing season since returning to Cleveland in 1999.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson, for whom the Browns traded three first-round picks and gave a fully guaranteed $230 million contract ahead of the 2022 season, suffered his second straight season-ending injury in Week 7. Watson alone has started 19 games in Cleveland; He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior during massage sessions, and posted the second-worst total QBR since his debut.
Days after Watson tore his right Achilles tendon, Stefanski announced he would hand over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, a decision he said was made on his own.
During the team’s Week 10 bye, Berry was asked how confident he was that he and Stefanski would have another season to turn the team around.
“I’ll be honest, none of us really see it that way,” he said. “The first thing I would say is that I always see myself as an administrator of the organization in this role and really my focus is on doing the things that are within my control, short and long term, to make sure everything is in order” . “The best for the franchise… Kevin is an exceptional coach and is absolutely part of the solution in everything.”
