After leading Cleveland to his first playoff win in 25 years, Kevin Stefanski’s inaugural season as head coach of Browns led to winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year 2020 award, as announced during NFL Awards on Saturday night.
With 25 votes, Stefanski took half of the ballots. Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott scored seven and Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores six.
In a year when all NFL teams faced setbacks due to COVID-19 – which brought paralyzed off-season play and zero preseason – Stefanski overcame a dire situation for any budding coach and managed to gain a much-needed sense of continuity for a Browns team that would be well prepared for the unfavorable path ahead.
Stefanski’s Browns earned their first season with eleven wins since 1994, which was the last time the Browns won a playoff game.
As the guiding spirit of Cleveland’s offense, Stefanski spawned a system that played on his strengths and created an ideal situation for Baker Mayfield, showing undeniable growth in what was a pivotal season for the third-year quarterback. Thanks to running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and a top-notch collection of offensive linemen, the Browns found their identity as a physical soccer team that could not only run a game on their own, but also looked for great opportunities to play and score points if needed . The 2020 Browns ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards (148.4 yards per game), scored the second-most points in franchise history (408), and had the third-best attack in the red zone with touchdowns on 73.6% of their trips.
The Browns did all of this while enduring a storm of several major injuries, including star wide-out Odell Beckham’s season-ending ACL tear, Chubb’s absence from four games, and a multitude of hits on the offensive and secondary lines that constantly forced the team into recalibrate and adjust. The Browns never faltered under Stefanski, producing two four-game victory streaks, and winning every game that followed after each of their five defeats, including a game to be won on week 17 to secure a playoff berth.
Earning a number 6 in the playoffs, the Browns hit the road to brave their AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and handled perhaps the most adverse situation for a team – Stefanski’s absence. The Browns coach was forced to stay home for the Browns’ first playoff game in 18 years after a positive test for COVID-19, but a groomed Cleveland team shocked the No. 3-seeded Steelers with a 48-37 Super Wild Card weekend win.
Stefanski returned to the sidelines in the Divisional Round, where the Browns fell short against upcoming AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. However, the Browns took to the road without a fight, leaving the city of Cleveland with a positive outlook on the future, which could lead to its haunted past extinguishing.
Stefanski’s quick turnaround in Cleveland came after a tumultuous year in which the Browns went through their second coaching change in as many seasons. Stefanski, 38, is only the second Browns coach to ever win the Coach of the Year award since its introduction in 1957, he joined Forrest Gregg, who earned the title after the 1976 season.