Shedeur Sanders or Kevin Stefanski? ‘Scared’ Browns must make immediate decision and there’s only one choice

Some teams would have fired Kevin Stefanski on Sunday.

The head coach of one of the worst franchises in the NFL intentionally kept his best offensive player off the field during a game-changing play in the final minute.

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After spending months blocking Shedeur Sanders’ path to being a starting quarterback, Stefanski watched a fifth-round pick throw for 364 yards and account for four touchdowns – before keeping the rookie out of a failed two-point conversion attempt.

Does Stefanski have a grudge vs Sanders?

“If I’m out there any play, I wish I would always have the ball in my hand. But that’s not what football is,” said Sanders, after the Tennessee Titans held off for a 31-29 road win in the snow.

How quickly Deion Sanders’ kid has learned what football is when you play for the Cleveland Browns.

Only the Browns would give Myles Garrett a $160 million contract extension, then choose a 40-year-old Joe Flacco as a Week 1 starter on the way to producing a 3-10 record.

And only the Browns would allow Stefanski to prop up third-round pick Dillon Gabriel week after week – while not even activating Sanders – despite the fact that Gabriel only threw for more than 190 yards in one of his six starts.

“We’re gonna stick with Dillon,” said Stefanski, following a Week 10 loss to the New York Jets, who are also one of the worst teams in the NFL.

It’s silly to leap over the moon after Sanders threw for 364 yards against the 2-11 Titans, who are officially tied with the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants for the poorest record in the league.

Let’s see where Sanders stands after the Browns face the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in three consecutive weeks.

But it’s easy to pinpoint Cleveland’s biggest on-field problem on Stefanski, who failed to understand Sanders’ pull from training camp and has twice backed the wrong QB since Week 1.

Gabriel was never good enough for Browns

I watched the undersized Gabriel with my own eyes inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October and nothing impressed.

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11. Chicago Bears (9-4)

Caleb Williams might be the only thing holding back the Bears right now.

Ben Johnson deserves serious consideration for NFL Coach of the Year.

Getting more out of Williams before Week 18 ends should push Johnson to the trophy.

Playing the Browns (3-10) on Sunday in Chicago should help Williams and Johnson reach their shared goal.

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Stefanski coached scared and went super conservative with the overwhelmed rookie QB, who only averaged 5.1 yards per attempt and 104.1 yards per game during his nine contests. 

Even taking Sanders with the No. 144 overall pick was conflicted for Cleveland, with owner Jimmy Haslam (net worth $8.7 billion) ‘blaming’ general manager Andrew Berry for a decision that eventually gave the Browns an absurd six QBs on their roster.

“If you’d have told me Friday night (day 2) driving home, ‘Y’all are going to pick Shedeur,’ I would have said, ‘That’s not happening,’ ” Haslam said in June.

“But we had a conversation early that morning and we had a conversation later that day. I think we had the right people involved in the conversation.”

Deshaun Watson has been a huge four-year problem for Cleveland fans.

Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley were briefly part of Browns history in 2025, which should end with a full house cleaning and an organizational reset for a pivotal ‘26 draft that will be highlighted by two first-round picks.

Unless Sanders lights up the Bears, Bills and Steelers, nothing should be guaranteed for Deion’s son, outside of a shot to compete for the Browns’ starting role next season.

But the former Colorado star instantly became linked with Tom Brady and Joe Burrow in NFL history once he reached 364 passing yards as a rookie, and anyone who understands American football can see that Sanders has serious athletic talent just by watching TV.

Sanders has been Browns’ best QB in 2025

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How did Stefanski miss that, so badly?

That’s what Haslam and the annually dysfunctional Browns should be asking themselves as Sanders prepares for another pro start vs Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson and the 9-4 Bears.

Was it personal preference, bias or coaching arrogance?

Or did a head coach with a 43-54 career record simply remind Browns fans that the worst enemy in finding a consistent starting quarterback in Cleveland has far too often been the team itself, not all the endless QBs since 1999?

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Time for house cleaning in Cleveland

One promising start is just the beginning for Sanders.

Browns insiders said all season he would get a shot, and this is now his time.

“This is the Cleveland Browns,” Tony Grossi, who has covered the Browns for more than 40 years, exclusively told talkSPORT in October.

“They played nine quarterbacks — Gabriel (was) the 10th in the last 2.5 years. So the odds are they’re going to go to No. 3 at some point this year.”

Stefanski has held back Cleveland’s 2025 development from training camp until the final minute of a painful loss vs the Titans.

Hopefully the Browns are smart enough to realize that finding a more humble head coach is the best way to maximize Sanders’ talent – or finally return to the playoffs with Cleveland’s next starting QB. 

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