The Browns are in a hot mess. But Mary Kay Kabot defended the HC Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry during a recent appearance on 92.3 The Fan. “Kevin Stefanski is not on the hot seat, Browns not looking at this like a ‘make-or-break’ year for this regime.” She claimed they were making all the right choices and were not on the hot seat. But the coach hasn’t named the starter yet. And it is making everyone uneasy, with more fingers being pointed at the staff now.

Nick Wilson’s tone on 92.3 The Fan during the July 12 broadcast was unmistakable: trust is eroding fast inside the Cleveland Browns building. And the players aren’t the only ones facing it. As he put it, “When Daniel says the Browns are in wait-and-see mode, I think it should be understood, that’s from the top down.” That pause? That hesitation? It’s the reality of a franchise unsure of what it actually has.

They weren’t shy about calling out head coach Kevin Stefanski either. Wilson further broke it down bluntly, “This is why when people say, ‘But Kevin Stefanski and what he’s done,’ it’s like, okay, it’s Year Six.” The message? Past success doesn’t buy forever. “The farther you get away from success, the more critical of an eye we should have when it comes to Andrew Berry and (Paul) DePodesta or anybody in that front office.” After all, a 3-win season is hardly going unnoticed in the Dawg Pound that’s losing patience. Worse yet, even Kevin’s safety net, the special teams, crumbled. Dustin Hopkins missed a third of his field goals and 15% of extra points.

It didn’t stop there. Another reason that adds to this tension is the uncertainty around Cleveland’s quarterback room. Wilson looked at it through the same lens. “Any one of these three or four quarterbacks, wait and see. And so to speak, definitively on any of them, I think, is a little too early.” It was the kind of line that echoes the actual feeling inside the front office: no conviction, no direction, just hope something clicks.

One of the most telling moments came when a host opened up about the QB picks, “I speak definitively on Kenny Pickett. I leave the door open for me to be wrong. I speak definitively on my discomfort with drafting Dillon Gabriel.” That wasn’t hot take energy, it was honest concern about the choices, and whether this staff even has a plan.

Then came the gut punch, “I think they’re a three-win team. Until otherwise, I think they’re a three-win team.” It’s the kind of comment that sounds dramatic until you realize the host was extremely serious. Not as a jab, but as a reflection of just how little faith is left, from top to bottom.

So while Stefanski might not technically be “on the hot seat,” the leash feels shorter than ever. A front office that once felt secure now faces a season where everyone, from players to executives, will face a genuine test. But the coach is under scrutiny for his 2025 Draft pick.

Kevin Stefanski is under massive pressure for the rookie

Appearing on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show this past Friday, NFL insider Aditi Kinkhabwala gave a brutally honest assessment of the Cleveland Browns’ chaotic quarterback battle. And she didn’t sugarcoat a thing. When Reggie Bush asked her who she thinks will win the Browns’ QB job, Kinkhabwala responded with conviction, “Well, I don’t think it’s a four-man race. It’s a Joe Flacco–Kenny Pickett race to me.”

That puts even more pressure on Kevin Stefanski and front office staff. She wasn’t dismissive of the younger arms, but she was clear, “Shedeur Sanders still has a lot of growing up to do, a lot of developing to do. A lot of learning to do. I would say the same for Dillon Gabriel. For as much as he’s shown, he still has to show that he can overcome his size. And I think that’s a magical little thing, especially on this level.”

Gabriel, with 18,000 passing yards at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon, might be the most intriguing name in the room. But as Kinkhabwala and others noted, intrigue doesn’t translate to Sunday success. The NFL is faster. And for a sub-6-foot lefty barely tipping 200 pounds, the margin for error is razor thin. His ceiling might be high, but reality spells doom.

In a Browns quarterback room full of uncertainty, Kinkhabwala made one thing clear. Experience still matters, and Cleveland can’t afford to gamble just for the sake of youth.