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Turning around a team in NFL is a huge feat. Turning around the Cleveland Browns has to be a feat that one is remembered for. Cleveland Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL for the past two decades. They were in the postseason last in 2002. Since then, they have had a long list of coaches who were hired and fired.
The last coach to come in was Kevin Stefanski from Vikings, where he was with the team for 14 long years and worked under some legendary coaches. He was given the role of special assistant to head coach under Brad Childers and was further nurtured by the coaches who came in.
He was in contention to be Browns coach in 2019 when there was an opening after a hopeful season with Baker Mayfield in the shotgun in his rookie year. Kevin was promoted to be the Offensive Coordinator for the Vikings in 2019 where his offense helped the resurgence of Kirk Cousins. He brought the same offense to Cleveland in the NFL 2020 season and led the Browns to their first playoffs in 17 years.
After a failed experiment with Ferdi Kitchens, General Manager John Dorsey was let go and the head coaching hunt was led by Paul De Podesta, who in 2019 wanted to hire Kevin Stefanski to get the Browns rolling. He got his choice of coach for the 2020 NFL season and together with first-time General Manager Andrew Berry, was able to put together a team that was able to make it to the playoffs.
Kevin Stefanski Wins NFL Coach of the Year award
It has not been an easy year for rookie head coaches in NFL this season. The world was hit by a pandemic and there was no OTA for any team. Under those circumstances, Kevin Stefanski was able to set his new offense via zoom calls and virtual meetings.
Throughout the NFL season, there were many curve balls thrown at each team with Covid-19 breakouts and losing key players to the Covid-19 protocols. Kevin and his coaching staff were able to keep the Browns away from the Covid-19 related problems till Christmas. However, when they were hit by the Covid-19 breakout in Cleveland, they were hit hard and lost many key players for a week.
During NFL Week 16, just before traveling to New York to play the Jets, the Browns lost their wide receivers' core to the Covid-19 protocols. They were in a predicament in NFL week 17 against the divisional rivals. Under all the duress, Kevin Stefanski kept preaching a winning mentally. One which Cleveland Browns lacked for decades.
After winning the NFL week 17 game against the Steelers, more bad news followed with Covid-19. Following the testing on Monday after the NFL week 17 game, Kevin Stefanski and some of the coaching staff were tested positive for Covid-19 and were out from the Wild Card game against divisional rivals Steelers. Browns were not able to practice throughout that week leading up to the wild card game. However, when Kevin’s team took to the field, they showed no signs of it. It was the epitome of Kevin Stefanski’s style of coaching. He had prepared them for the most important game in Cleveland Browns' recent history via Zoom meetings and virtual calls.
Kevin Stefanski was a deserved winner for NFL Coach of the Year. He turned around the culture of one of the most abysmal teams in the NFL and did it in a pandemic-hit NFL season. He has turned Cleveland Browns into a contender within a year of his joining.
