After leading Cleveland in his first playoff victory in 25 years, Kevin Stefanski’s first season as coach of the Browns culminated in him winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year 2020 award, as announced during NFL Honors Saturday night.
With 25 votes, Stefanski obtained half the ballots. Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott scored seven and Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores six.
In a year in which all NFL teams dealt with adversity due to COVID-19 – which brought with it an off-season and zero pre-season games – Stefanski overcame a terrible situation for any novice coach and managed to influence a much needed sense continuity for a Browns team that would be well prepared for the adverse path ahead.
Stefanski’s Browns won their first season of 11 wins since 1994, which marked the last time the Browns won a playoff game.
As the leader of the Cleveland attack, Stefanski presented a system that played to his strengths and created an ideal situation for Baker Mayfield, who showed unmistakable growth in what was a crucial season for the third-year defender. Because of running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and a collection of first-class strikers, the Browns found their identity as a physically-based football team that not only managed to control a game on its own merits, but sought great opportunities for game and can score points when needed. The 2020 Browns took third place in the NFL in running yards (148.4 yards per game), scored the second highest number of points in franchise history (408) and had the third best attack in the league’s red zone with touchdowns in 73 , 6% of your trips.
The Browns did it all while resisting a storm of several major injuries, including the breakdown of the ACL at the end of the Odell Beckham season, the absence of four Chubb games and a series of strikes on the offensive and back line that constantly forced the team recalibrate and adjust. The Browns never wavered under Stefanski, producing two streak wins in four games and winning every game that came after each of their five losses, including a mandatory game in Week 17 to secure a playoff spot.
Winning sixth place in the playoffs, the Browns hit the road to face their AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and dealt with perhaps the most adverse situation for a team – the absence of Stefanski. The Browns coach was forced to stay home for the Browns’ first playoff game in 18 years after testing positive for COVID-19, but a prepared Cleveland team shocked Steelers number 3 with a 48-37 win in the End Super Wild Card.
Stefanski returned to the field in the Divisional Round, where the Browns fell short of the Kansas City Chiefs, who would soon be AFC champions. The Browns did not leave without a fight, however, and left the city of Cleveland with a positive outlook on its future, which could lead to the extinction of its tormented past.
Stefanski’s quick turnaround in Cleveland came after a tumultuous year in which the Browns went through their second coach change in two seasons. Stefanski, 38, is just the second Browns coach to win the Coach of the Year award since it was launched in 1957, joining Forrest Gregg, who won the title after the 1976 season.