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Looking at the best offensive coordinator fits for the Eagles after they’ve predictably moved on from Kevin Patullo.
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Geoff Mosher
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Tag: Kevin Stefanski
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The best, most logical replacements for Eagles offensive coordinator
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Who’s Next? 15 Browns Head Coach Candidates After Stefanski’s Exit
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Source: Julio Aguilar / Getty The Cleveland Browns officially enter head coach search mode following Kevin Stefanski’s dismissal. The move opens the door to a wide range of potential replacements. League sources expect the Browns to explore both experienced head coaches and rising coordinators.
Several recently fired NFL coaches could draw interest. Those candidates bring proven resumes and leadership experience. Coordinators across the league also stand out after strong seasons on offense and defense. Many already generate head coach buzz in league circles.
The Browns may also consider bold, unconventional options. Big-name veterans and college coaches could spark major attention. Those names would signal a win-now mindset or a long-term culture reset.
This list highlights 15 realistic and debated candidates. Some fit Cleveland’s current roster. Others would represent a dramatic shift in philosophy. Each option brings risk, intrigue, and upside as the franchise looks ahead.
Potential Browns Head Coach Replacements
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty 1. Pete Carroll, former Seahawks head coach
Won a Super Bowl and built one of the NFL’s most consistent cultures.
Source: Steph Chambers / Getty 6. Klint Kubiak, Seahawks offensive coordinator
Runs a Shanahan-style system with a strong run-pass balance.
Source: G Fiume / Getty 10. Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders’ offensive coordinator
Offensive-minded coach with NFL and college head coaching experience.[ad_2]
Matty Willz
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Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski sounds off on report of imminent firing
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The Cleveland Browns are reportedly ready to move on from head coach Kevin Stefanski after six years, but Stefanski had no interest in discussing that topic after his team finished the season with consecutive wins.
Cleveland bested the Cincinnati Bengals via a field goal on the final drive of the game to win by a score of 20-18. The victory moved the Browns to a record of 5-12 on the season after a 2-8 start. Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders finished the campaign with a 3-4 record as the starter over the final seven contests of the year.
Browns beat reporters wasted little time asking Stefanski about his job security during the postgame press conference, particularly after Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported on Sunday morning, January 4 that Stefanski was not long for his current position in Cleveland.
Read More: Browns’ Myles Garrett Sets NFL Sack Record on Bengals’ Joe Burrow
“Kevin Stefanski will be unemployed very soon here,” Glazer said during the network’s NFL pregame show.
Stefanski was then feisty with media members who pressed him on his job status after Cleveland’s road win.
“This game is not about me,” Stefanski said. “I told you guys that.”
“I’m gonna spend the next 30 minutes celebrating with this team,” he continued.
Stefanski has been with the organization for six years, capturing two NFL Coach of the Year awards. His teams went to the playoffs in 2020 and 2023, the two years he won that honor, but have missed the postseason following the other four campaigns.
For his career, Stefanski owns a regular season record of 45-56. He is 1-2 in the playoffs.
Glazer also reported on Sunday that the Green Bay Packers may decide to part ways with head coach Matt LaFleur if the team loses in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Should that happen, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk speculated on Sunday that Stefanski might end up the lead man at Lambeau Field once the coaching carousel stops going round in the late winter/early spring of 2026.
Read More: Browns Insider Reveals Clear Favorite to Replace Kevin Stefanski
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Browns QB Shedeur Sanders has a rough NFL debut after relieving the injured Dillon Gabriel
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Shedeur Sanders finally got the opportunity to show what he could do as an NFL quarterback.
In one half of action, the Cleveland Browns rookie showed he still faces a steep learning curve.
The highly publicized son of Deion Sanders entered with 12:43 remaining in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens after Cleveland announced that Dillon Gabriel was being evaluated for a concussion. Gabriel was ruled out later in the quarter.
Sanders completed his first two passes, but not much went right after that. He went 4 for 16 for 47 yards with an interception and was sacked twice, finishing with a 13.5 passer rating as the Ravens rallied for a 23-16 victory.
“I don’t think I played good at all. They gave me an opportunity. I didn’t do up to my expectations to get us a win. I have to take it on the chin,” said Sanders, who also scrambled three times for 16 yards.
With Sanders behind center, Cleveland gained 44 yards on 28 plays with four first downs in six second-half possessions, going three-and-out twice.
“We trust our guys to perform. He’s no different, you know, and playing a backup quarterback role, as we’ve talked about over the years, that’s tough to come in there, but we trust him,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I know there’s things that he’s going to want to do better, but that’s why we work.”
Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who coached Shedeur in college at Jackson State and Colorado, was quiet on social media Sunday night after his son’s debut.
Sanders became Cleveland’s backup behind fellow rookie Gabriel after Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7. However, Sunday was the first time he led the huddle with the first-team offense or threw passes to Jerry Jeudy, Harold Fannin Jr. and Cedric Tillman.
“I think I have heard his cadence like two or three times. I think going out of halftime, we all got on the line, and he said his cadence and we kind of got through it,” guard Wyatt Teller said. “Again, a lot of learning, but he played his heart off, put his heart out.”
On his first snap, Sanders threw a 5-yard pass to Tillman. He completed both of his passes for 12 yards on his first drive but struggled with his footwork. He was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton and fumbled, with Teller recovering.
Sanders threw his first interception on his second series. On third-and-10 at the Browns 17, Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy got pressure up the middle and hammered Sanders as he released the ball. The throw was off target and picked off at the 30 by Nate Wiggins, who returned it 14 yards.
There was a four-series stretch where Sanders was 0 of 7 with an interception and took a sack.
After Mark Andrews’ 35-yard touchdown run with 2:31 remaining put the Ravens on top, Sanders tried to lead a tying drive. He completed a 25-yard pass to Fannin on the first play. Three plays later, he connected with Jeudy for 10 yards to the Ravens 30.
Sanders and the Browns drove to the Ravens 25 before the drive stalled. Sanders’ final pass intended for tight end David Njoku on fourth-and-5 was short as the Browns (2-8) dropped their third straight.
Sanders did take one shot at the end zone on second-and-5, but missed a throw to Isaiah Bond.
“He just kind of got thrown out there but I think he handled it well. We know what type of player he is and it was good to see him out there,” Tillman said.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said his team didn’t deviate much from its plan when Sanders came in, although they blitzed more often in an attempt to rattle him.
“The game plan was going to be good for their offensive system and what they’re doing. We were not going to change that,” he said. “You don’t know how the quarterback’s going to look exactly, but you just have to take care of your own business.”
A fifth-round pick by the Browns after some projected him to go in the first round, Sanders was inactive for Cleveland’s first five games as the emergency third quarterback after going 17 of 29 for 152 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games.
Sanders should get his first extensive practice with the first-team offense this week, depending on how long Gabriel remains in the concussion protocol. Stefanski said Sanders would get his first NFL start next Sunday at Las Vegas if Gabriel can’t play. Gabriel completed 7 of 10 passes for 68 yards in the first half in his sixth NFL start.
The Browns have lost three straight.
“I think it’s a lot of things, you know, we need to look at, during the week and go and just get comfortable, even throwing routes, you know, with Jerry (Jeudy) and throwing routes with all those guys,” Sanders said. “So I think that was my first ball to him all year. But other than that, I just think overall we just got to go next week and understand so then we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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Browns Kevin Stefanski Refuses to Name Shedeur QB2 After Flacco Trade
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Source: Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has yet to name a backup quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While many Browns fans assume that rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders would slide into that role, Stefanski refused to state that during a press conference earlier today.
When asked about who the backup QB would be, Stefanski replied: “… still working through all roster type of things… I always have to be mindful of our players, and our players development.”
The Browns have veteran Bailey Zappe on the practice squad. It remains to be seen if he’ll be elevated to the 53-man roster, or if Cleveland will opt to bring in another veteran QB.
The Browns play the Steelers in Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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Matty Willz
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Vegas Odds for First NFL Head Coach Fired — Four Best Bets
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If you readers know anything about me, you know that I love a nice wager. Also, if you know anything about me, you know that I’m willing to wager on almost anything. For every conventional wager on a college football or NFL game, I’ve placed a sizable wager on the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. For every MLB game on which I dip my toe, I’ll cobble together a parlay for predicted Oscar winners.
Perhaps no “unconventional” wager piques my interest, though, quite like wagering on people’s employment, or perhaps more appropriately, their potential UNEMPLOYMENT. This brings me to one of my favorite wagers of the NFL season — who will be the first NFL head coach fired?
The crazy thing about this wager is that the favorite rarely hits. In the last five seasons, these have been the winning ticket cashers:
2020: BILL O’BRIEN, Texans
2021: URBAN MEYER, Jaguars
2022: MATT RHULE, Panthers
2023: FRANK REICH, Panthers
2024: ROBERT SALEH, JetsOf those five, the only favorite (or near favorite) that hit was Rhule in 2022. The other four were all fairly long shots. The one thing they all had in common was some level of internal franchise dysfunction (O’Brien, Saleh), a train wreck owner (Rhule, Reich), or massive personal, self destructive issues (Meyer).
So, if we are picking a winner, it’s less about schedule and matchups, and more about finding (a) a potentially bad team with (b) a rotting culture and rotten ownership. Before I lay out my four best bets, here are the full odds:
Mike McDaniel (MIA) 2/1
Brian Daboll (NYG) 4/1
Shane Steichen (IND) 7/1
Dave Canales (CAR) 15/2
Kevin Stefanski (CLE) 15/2
Jonathan Gannon (ARI) 8/1
Zac Taylor (CIN) 9/1
Brian Callahan (TEN) 18/1
Raheem Morris (ATL) 18/1
Todd Bowles (TB) 20/1
Mike Tomlin (PIT) 28/1
Kyle Shanahan (SF) 33/1
Kevin O’Connell (MIN) 40/1
Matt LaFleur (GB) 40/1
Sean McVay (LA) 40/1
DeMeco Ryans (HOU) 50/1
Sean McDermott (BUF) 60/1
Mike Macdonald (SEA) 66/1
Sean Payton (DEN) 66/1
John Harbaugh (BAL) 75/1
Ben Johnson (CHI) 100/1
Brian Schottenheimer (DAL) 100/1
Dan Campbell (DET) 100/1
Dan Quinn (WAS) 100/1
Jim Harbaugh (LAC) 100/1
Aaron Glenn (NYJ) 150/1
Kellen Moore (NO) 150/1
Liam Coen (JAX) 150/1
Pete Carroll (LV) 200/1
Mike Vrabel (NE) 250/1
Andy Reid (KC) 500/1
Nick Sirianni (PHI) 500/1Okay, so let’s lay out four decent selections:
MIKE McDANIEL, Dolphins, 2/1
The favorite deserves to be the favorite. Listen to McDaniel speak, and you’d think that Stephen Ross has been letting a stoned teenager run the team for their last three years. Over the course of the offseason, McDaniel has had Three Hill agitate for a trade and Jalen Ramsey successfully lobby to get traded. The team is widely viewed as a punchline around the league for being soft. McDaniel’s time has run out in South Beach.DAVE CANALES, Panthers, 15/2
Credit to Canales, as he got a nice stretch of football out of QB Bryce Young down the stretch last season, easily the best Young has played during his two seasons in the NFL. However, if I’m putting together an article touting multiple best bets, how can I not include the head coach on the team who’s owner has given us the winner in two out of the last three seasons?KEVIN STEFANSKI, Browns, 15/2
This whole situation is ripe for people to lose their jobs. After the whole Deshaun Watson experience ended in catastrophe, the Browns have now created a second QB controversy by drafting two rookie quarterbacks in the same draft class, with one of them being Shedeur Sanders. Oh, and neither of the rookies will start, because the Browns signed 40-year-old Joe Flacco, who stinks. This feels like a “let’s just blow the whole thing up and start over” situation, potentially, and Kevin Stefanski would for sure get smoked under this scenario.BRIAN CALLAHAN, Titans, 18/1
I can’t just cherry pick off the top of these odds, so I’ll dip slightly lower in the 18/1 range on this one. The rumor mill in the offseason was saying that the Titans almost moved on from Callahan after one season. As the former OC with the Bengals, the hope was that Callahan would fix second year QB Will Levis. That didn’t come close to happening, so if rookie Cam Ward gets off to a slow start, perhaps Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk decides to head off any long term damage to the rookie by moving on from Callahan.Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
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Sean Pendergast
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Nick Chubb scores TD for Browns in return after serious knee injury ended his 2023 season
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Nick Chubb made it all the way back — like he promised.
Cleveland’s star running back, whose 2023 season ended with a knee injury in Week 2, returned to the field Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, providing a lift for Browns fans and a team needing a spark.
Chubb received a thunderous ovation during pregame player introductions, in contrast to quarterback Deshaun Watson being booed as he ran out of the tunnel.
Watson later suffered a likely season-ending Achilles tendon injury, another blow to a franchise that has taken its share.
Chubb scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run and finished with 22 yards on 11 carries. He also had one catch for 10 yards.
“I was just happy to see him out there, all the work he’s put in,” guard Joel Bitonio said. “What everyone says about Nick Chubb is great, and he’s a better person than he is a player. He’s a heck of a player.
“So it was good to have him back out there. I wish we would’ve been a little more successful … and got a win. But I’m glad he got in the end zone.”
Chubb had just one carry in the second half, but coach Kevin Stefanski said that wasn’t any reason for concern.
“No setbacks,” he said. “Just always trying to be smart with him. Want to make sure that we don’t put him in a bad spot. He was good. He came out of this thing good. So, he’ll be ready to roll.”
Last season, Chubb, who is one of the most popular athletes in Cleveland history, was carted off the field after his left knee, the same one he injured while at Georgia, was wrecked on a hard hit near the goal line by Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Earlier this week, Chubb wrote an essay in which he said he feared his football career was over as he was carted off the field.
After the Bengals returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Chubb got his first carry in more than a year on the third play and picked up 2 yards.
Chubb has rushed for 6,511 yards and scored 48 touchdowns in five-plus seasons for the Browns, who drafted him in the second round in 2018.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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