Stefanski asked to be coach of the year again
By STEVE KING
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was named the NFL Coach of the Year in 2020.
And that’s understandable — he very much deserved it — after guiding the Browns, a team that had not posted a winning record in 13 years, and had not qualified for the postseason in 18 seasons, into the AFC playoffs with an 11-5 mark.
Pretty impressive, huh?
Yes.
And did we mention that the Browns, in beating up the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the wild-card round, won a playoff game for the first time in 26 years?
Even more impressive, huh?
But now Stefanski will have to prove — all over again — that his winning the award was legitimate.
He is being asked now to get his Browns, reeling though they are, back on track. It will not be easy.
Once rolling along with a 3-1 start, the Browns have lost two in a row, a heartbreaking 47-42 decision to the Los Angeles Chargers in which they blew a 14-point second-half lead, and then Sunday’s 37-14 cage-rattling administered — at home, no less — by the Arizona Cardinals in a game in which they could do little right, coming apart at the seams on both offense and defense.
In 2020, the Browns excelled like they did even though they gave up more points than they scored overall on the year, and won games even they didn’t play particularly well at times. Indeed, it was almost as if that no matter what they did, they couldn’t lose.
Call it being gilded, even though they entered the season with low expectations.
Now, the expectations are high — meteorically high — after what happened a year ago, and following what has transpired the last two weeks, that promise is being questioned, if not doubted.
It will be up to Stefanski to figure it all out, despite the slew of injuries that have mounted, and mattered so much, these last two weeks.
If Kevin Stefanski can find the right formula, then in some respects, if not a lot of them, he might actually be doing an even better job than last year.
Key dates ahead
Oct 21: Week 7 vs. Denver, 8:20 p.m.
Oct 31: Week 8 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Nov. 2: NFL trade deadline, 4 p.m.
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The following is the unofficial depth chart for the Browns’ Week 7 game Thursday against the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8:20 p.m., and the game can be seen on FOX, NFL Network and Amazon Prime.
Offense
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Jarvis Landry^ | Donovan Peoples-Jones | Anthony Schwartz | |
| LT | Jedrick Wills Jr. | Alex Taylor | ||
| LG | Joel Bitonio | Hjalte Froholdt | ||
| C | JC Tretter | Michael Dunn | ||
| RG | Wyatt Teller | Blake Hance | ||
| RT | Jack Conklin | James Hudson III | ||
| TE | Austin Hooper | David Njoku | Harrison Bryant | |
| WR | Odell Beckham Jr. | Rashard Higgins | ||
| QB | Baker Mayfield | Case Keenum | ||
| RB | Nick Chubb | Kareem Hunt* | Demetric Felton | D’Ernest Johnson |
| FB | Johnny Stanton IV |
Defense
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDE | Myles Garrett | Takkarist McKinley | |
| LDT | Malik Jackson | Jordan Elliott | |
| RDT | Malik McDowell | Andrew Billings | Tommy Togiai |
| RDE | Jadeveon Clowney | Joe Jackson | Ifeadi Odenigbo |
| WILL | Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah* | Mack Wilson Sr. | |
| MIKE | Anthony Walker Jr. | Elijah Lee | |
| SAM | Sione Takitaki | Malcolm Smith | Tony Fields II |
| LCB | Denzel Ward | Troy Hill | A.J. Green |
| RCB | Greg Newsome II | Greedy Williams | |
| SS | Ronnie Harrison Jr. | Grant Delpit | |
| FS | John Johnson III | Richard LeCounte III |
Special Teams
| Position | 1st | 2nd |
|---|---|---|
| P | Jamie Gillan | |
| K | Chase McLaughlin | |
| H | Jamie Gillan | |
| KR | Demetric Felton | Anthony Schwartz |
| PR | Demetric Felton | Donovan Peoples-Jones |
| LS | Charley Hughlett |
