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Insider gives positive outlook for Kevin Stefanski as Browns head coach.
The Cleveland Browns are off to a 2-7 start, and fans have called for head coach Kevin Stefanski to be fired.
However, it is unlikely that Stefanski will be fired this season. Meanwhile, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot revealed that he is likely to return in 2026. General manager Andrew Berry is also expected back, according to Cabot.
“The truth is, we have no idea what they are actually really thinking,” Cabot said on 92.3 The Fan. “I know going into it, Jimmy Haslam has indicated, I believe at the owner’s meetings, that he wasn’t holding Kevin and Andrew’s feet to the fire because this was the year they were trying to figure out what they had in one of these rookie quarterbacks. Or, at least at that point, they knew it was going to be one rookie quarterback.
“I don’t think there was this sense of ‘win or else’ this season. It was about fact-finding and figuring out what they had and helping them inform what to do in the 2026 draft. I just don’t think this was a year where the expectations were super, crazy high. But, still, you have to see certain things from your football team. … I do think that Jimmy believes in continuity and alignment in his organization. And, he knows that this is a challenging year with all of the rookies. In a perfect world, he’s going to want to try to maintain that continuity. And, see if they can’t get this thing on the right track with a new quarterback they will probably draft in 2026.
Cabot believes Haslam still has confidence in Berry and Stefanski, and both could very well return next season with a new quarterback.
Cleveland has struggled this season as the Browns are off to a 2-7 start and coming off a disappointing 27-20 road loss to the New York Jets.
Following the loss, Stefanski made it clear that the goal and focus are on turning it around and finding ways to win.
“Obviously frustrated, disappointed on that result yesterday,” Stefanski said on Monday. “And we’re spending time right now watching it with the players and trying to learn from that. You know, hard to win on the road, and certainly hard when you do some of the things we did in that ball game. But we’re committed to this thing, and we’ll just find ways to get better in all areas and we’ll go from there. Big division game at our place this week.”
Stefanski believes the Browns have to be better in all three phases of the game. Despite that being an issue all season, he has full confidence in his group.
The Browns will host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in a game Cleveland is a 7.5-point underdog.
Although Stefanski hasn’t been fired, and there are no signs he will be, his name has come up for other jobs.
The New York Giants fired Brian Daboll on Monday after a loss to the Chicago Bears. Following Daboll’s firing, NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky links Stefanski to the Giants.
“The No. 1 name that I would pay attention to if I were the Giants is what happens in Cleveland with Kevin Stefanski,” Orlovsky said on Monday on NFL Live. “If I could hand-pick a guy, it would be Stefanski. He’s an outstanding coach, two-time Coach of the Year.
“I understand people in Cleveland are like, ‘This guy can’t coach’. But there’s a lot of empirical data that would say otherwise. … I would pay attention to see what’s going on in Cleveland.”
Stefanski has been the Browns’ head coach since 2020 and has led them to the playoffs twice.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to add another offensive weapon to the roster.
The Steelers are off to a 3-1 start and coming off a 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, and had their bye week last week. With Pittsburgh off to a hot start, the Steelers could be aggressive ahead of the trade deadline.
One area of need is at receiver, and the Steelers are already calling around. According to Steelers insider Andrew Fillipponi, Pittsburgh has checked in with the New Orleans Saints over Rashid Shaheed.
“Source: The Steelers reached out to the Saints during the bye week to take their temperature on WR Rashid Shaheed. Who will be a FA at the end of the year. Big play WR and return man. Trades are being made in the NFL left and right,” Fillipponi wrote on X.
Shaheed signed a one–year, $5.2 million contract extension with the Saints this offseason and is off to a hot start. With New Orleans likely to be near the bottom of the standings, Shaheed’s name has come up in trade talks.
The speedy receiver would be a deep ball threat for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense. Shaheed has recorded 22 receptions for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns this season, including an 87-yard touchdown reception, showing his ability to stretch the field.
Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled this season to move the ball downfield.
Rodgers has done a good job of taking what the defense has given him. But he explained why the deep ball hasn’t been a part of the Steelers’ offense.
“It’s easy playing [against] Cover 2,” Rodgers said. “Playing Cover 2, there’s not gonna be a ton of big shots down the field. Until we get them in one-high, it’s gonna be precision passing short of the sticks… There’s not going to be a lot of shots open down the boundary. So, we’re just trying to be efficient.”
Although Rodgers believes the opposing team’s defense is why the deep ball hasn’t been effective, it also could be due to the receiver core.
If the Steelers do make a move for Shaheed, it could open up the deep ball and make Pittsburgh’s offense that much better.
Although the Steelers are off to a good start, head coach Mike Tomlin believes the offense needs to improve.
Tomlin believes the Steelers’ offense has had some moments, but he believes it could be better.
“All areas, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin admitted. “We’ve had some good moments. We’ve had some moments that aren’t good. We’ve got to keep pushing, and we’d better win along the way.”
Pittsburgh is averaging just 24 points per game, and the Steelers are atop the AFC North. But, despite every other team losing in the division, Tomlin doesn’t care as he’s just focused on his team.
“I don’t care what happened with other people, particularly last weekend,” Tomlin said. “It’s about us coming off the bye and getting ready for our game this week. I’m not a big-picture guy.”
Pittsburgh hosts the Cleveland Browns in Week 6.