During his first two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, former NFL wide receiver Jarvis Landry had already earned back-to-back Pro Bowl selections. Then, in 2020, the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach. And while Cleveland enjoyed strong offensive production in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Landry’s numbers took a hit. Part of that was due to injuries, while the rest stemmed from Landry’s belief that he wasn’t getting meaningful opportunities.

“I’m a big team guy,” Landry said on 4th and South. “If we winning, have it your way. But if we losing, and when I say Losing, I mean multiple, not just one…and I didn’t left with one target, two target, oh, it’s a problem. It’s not a problem. I just want to know what’s going on. Am I not earning the trust to get reps? Am I not good enough for you to put the ball in my hand on third down and six, third-and-five situational football?”

Landry spent four seasons with the Browns from 2018 before Cleveland released him after the 2022 season. Before the Browns hired Stefanski, Landry had just recorded the best season of his career, when he grabbed 83 receptions for 1,174 yards and 6 touchdowns. Across the next couple of seasons, however, his performance as well as the Browns’ passing offense dipped.

To put that into perspective, Kevin Stefanski remained the Browns’ HC during Landry’s final two seasons in Cleveland in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, the Browns produced a franchise-record 5,913 total yards. While the team ranked third in rushing offense, Cleveland finished 24th in passing offense. Landry, meanwhile, caught 72 passes for 840 yards and three touchdowns that season, with the Browns finishing 11-5.

In 2021, the Browns once again surpassed 5,000 total yards, ranking 18th in the league. The rushing attack remained productive, with the team recording 1,857 rushing yards and finishing seventh in the NFL. At the same time, however, the passing offense regressed again, as Cleveland dropped to 27th in the league. Landry finished with 52 receptions for 570 yards and two touchdowns before the Browns eventually moved on from him after finishing 8-9 and missing the playoffs.

However, it’s worth noting that Landry still led the wide receiver unit in the 2020 season ahead of Rashard Higgins and Odell Beckham Jr., and while it’s true that he had a disappointing 2021 season, that was because the wide receiver missed multiple games due to a knee injury.

While it’s true that Jarvis Landry’s numbers dropped in the final two seasons with the Browns, it won’t be unfair to say that multiple factors also came into play. However, that didn’t stop the former Browns receiver from taking a dig at his former team as well as Kevin Stefanski’s tenure as the Browns’ head coach.

Jarvis Landry called out Kevin Stefanski for not taking accountability

Kevin Stefanski had a promising start to his Browns tenure, leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in years and also earning the AP NFL Coach of the Year. But his tenure wrapped up with multiple disappointing seasons, especially in the last two years, where the Browns finished 8-26. And after Cleveland fired Stefanski, Jarvis Landry took a hit at his former HC, calling him out for not taking accountability.

“When I was there for 100% fact, when we were struggling as a offense, I know Kevin Stefanski himself gave up play calling to AVP, to other guys,” Landry said earlier this year. “The same thing that he’s done that we have guys that have told us that he’s done throughout the years of not being able to get it done as a play caller, and then putting it off on somebody else. The team gets success, and then he takes over play calling again.”

Stefanski was the Browns’ offensive play-caller during the start of his tenure. However, Landry believed that whenever the Browns started losing, the head coach gave up his play-calling duties. Take the 2024 season, for instance. Cleveland went 1-6, with Deshaun Watson also suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. As that went down, Stefanski handed play-calling duties to OC Ken Dorsey.

Last season, after a 2-6 start, Stefanski once again stepped away from play-calling, this time handing those duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees beginning in Week 10. So, it’s fair to say that Landry’s criticism of Stefanski wasn’t entirely unfounded. Fast forward to now, and Landry is no longer in Cleveland, with Todd Monken preparing to lead the offense.