Last week, the Browns tried to spark some hope with a cheeky post: “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… a dawg 🐶,” casting their quarterback (probably) as Superman and swapping Krypto for their late, beloved bullmastiff mascot, SJ. The tagline? “Cleveland, look up.” Poetic, sure—but in reality, things are spiraling in the opposite direction. Head coach Kevin Stefanski and crew aren’t flying—they’re free-falling. And there are a lot of reasons to back that up.

The 2024 season ended in a crash landing: a 3:14 record, dead last in the division. Deshaun Watson’s trade backfired expensively—a five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed deal that’s been washed away in Cleveland’s endless rain. The Browns have cycled through four defensive coordinators in five years and recorded just one playoff win. And the fan base? Frustrated. Taken all together, many analysts believe Kevin Stefanski’s job could be on the line in 2025.

But the NFL analyst Aaron Schatz has a different take on this chaotic situation in Cleveland. Schatz recently stopped by the 92.3 The Fan, where he was asked what Stefanski needs to do to keep his job as the Browns’ head coach. Schatz’s response? He started with, “I think showing that the team won’t quit is a good one.” But then he pivoted to how Stefanski is well-respected in the Browns’ locker room, and why the team would regret his departure.

“Listen, if they were to get rid of Stefanski, he would get hired by another team,” Schatz added. “Yes, everyone in the league has a lot of respect for him. I don’t think anybody looks at the situation in Cleveland and thinks that this is his fault. I think you can blame ownership, I think you can blame management. I think you can look at players that have that have not developed, but I don’t think anybody looks at it and goes Stefanski is the reason why those players have not developed…Stefanski made the Watson trade, like nobody thinks those things, right? So, he’s like very well respected. So, if they have a bad season and he’s the scapegoat, I think they’ll regret it.”

In a feature by Cleveland reporter Daniel Oyefusi on AFC North coaches, he pointed out that the sixth-year head coach continued to believe in Watson, even though the quarterback was preventing his team from gaining momentum. The result was horrendous. Watson showed up in just 19 games across three seasons, with a 9-10 record to show for it. Now, he’s not even starting the 2025 season.

And that’s just one of the reasons why analysts believe that Stefanski’s job is in jeopardy. The head coach is returning for his sixth year with his play-calling style that earned him Coach of the Year in 2025. That year, his ground-heavy, Nick  Chubb‑centric scheme helped the Browns storm to an 11‑5. But entering the 2025 season, the head coach doesn’t have Chubb. He doesn’t have Amari Cooper. And he doesn’t have Za’Darius Smith, either. All of them have moved on and left Coach Stefanski in limbo.

And last but not least, the head coach is dealing with the same headache the Browns have had for almost 30 years now—quarterbacking. There’s optimism around the Browns’ quarterback room when you’ve Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, until it becomes a headache. The Browns are betting on veterans over the young. Sanders and Gabriel are unlikely to start in Week 1. It’s the 40-year-old Flacco, who will be under center.

All in all, entering the 2025 season, Stefanski is facing tough questions, no doubt. But the way things are unfolding, it’s safe to say that the Browns have accepted Kevin Stefanski as the head coach. He’s well-respected and, as Adam Schatz observed, they’d regret if it ever comes to fire the HC. Plus, we’ll see if he can flip the script this season.

As for Shedeur and Gabriel? Well, it still remains a tug-of-war and another concern for Kevin Stefanski.

Shedeur Sanders seems to have an edge over Dillon Gabriel

So far this offseason, early buzz pointed to the Browns starting a veteran in week 1. Sure, Flacco brings experience—but he’s coming off a 2-4 start with the Colts. Pickett? He hasn’t shown much, whether it was in Pittsburgh or Philly. That’s exactly why Emory Hunt, who recently joined CBS Sports HQ to dissect key QB battles before Training Camp, thinks Shedeur Sanders could actually push for the QB1 job. The talent’s there—it’s just a matter of when he gets his shot.

“Absolutely,” Hunt said when asked if Shedeur can compete for the QB1 spot. “We could go through process of elimination. Last time we saw Joe Flacco in a Browns uniform, he was turning the ball over in a collapse down there in Houston. Last time we saw Kenny (Pickett) play football, he wasn’t doing so well with the Philadelphia Eagles, and he was a first-round pick with Pittsburgh. And had he been that guy, he’d still be in Pittsburgh, who are still looking for their QB of the future.” That left us with the rookies—Sanders and Gabriel.

Both of them turned heads at the OTAs and the mandatory minicamp. Sanders completed 77.4% of his passes (41/51) and had 9 TDs with just 1 pick. Meanwhile, Gabriel completed 57.8% passes (48/83, most passes among the QBs) and had 8 TDs with zero picks. However, Hunt observed that not a single person believed that Gabriel is better than Shedeur.

“Dillon Gabriel,” he continued, “listen, from August 2024 to April 30th, not one person in this great country thought Dillon Gabriel was better than Shedeur Sanders. So, he’s irrelevant in this conversation. So, Shedeur is the best quarterback in that room. Touch, timing, anticipation, critical situation football. He is excelling.” Shedeur Sanders started slow in the NFL as he faced pre-snap struggles, as pointed out by Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.

However, the last two weeks of the Browns’ practice sessions, where he completed 77.4% passes, earned him a legit shot at the starting role in the training camp. To secure his QB1 job, Shedeur just needs to outshine his fellow QBs in the training camp and the preseason. Plus, as Hunt pointed out, he just needs to improve at getting rid of the ball, given that he was sacked 42 times last season at Colorado. Safe to say, the next few weeks are crunch time for Shedeur as Week 1 looms large. Unless the Browns have another plan.