$12 million worth commentator claims Kevin Stefanski should be the ‘coach of the year’ for helping Browns reach the playoffs despite multiple injury concerns

Kevin Stefanski is the favorite to win the Coach of the Year award. 

$12 million worth commentator claims Kevin Stefanski should be the ‘coach of the year’ for helping Browns reach the playoffs despite multiple injury concerns

Kirk Herbstreit and Kevin Stefanski (Via The Spun/Spectrum News)

The 2023 NFL season has come to an end, and with that, the competition for Coach of the Year seems to have narrowed down. Leading the race is Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, who is the favorite. And so believes sports commentator Kirk Herbstreit.

In his recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit asserted this opinion.

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This is just my opinion. There's a lot of great coaches in the NFL that have done a good job this season but I think he [Kevin Stefanski] is the Coach of the Year.
He said

If Stefanski wins the award this season, it will be his second after 2020. He has become the first coach in the league to start four quarterbacks in multiple games and still make it to the playoffs. Standing at an 11-5 season record, the Browns still have a chance to win the AFC North divisional title and secure the top AFC seed.

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Even if they didn’t win the division, the worst Cleveland would finish this season would be at No. 5, and considering the hardship of the team, head coach Stefanski has emerged as a strong candidate to win the distinction for the second time.

Why does Kirk Herbstreit believe Kevin Stefanski deserves the distinction?

While talking about why head coach Stefanski deserves to win the title, Herbstreit highlighted how losing Nick Chubb was a major loss for the Browns. 

He's really the heart and soul of that team and in a very unique way he leads. He's a quiet guy and one of the most likeable guys..maybe in the NFL.
He said

After losing him, it also took down the wind of the Browns ticket sales. He also highlighted that things didn’t work out with Deshaun Watson, as he got 5-1 but ended up getting out of the year.

Kevin Stefanski with Browns players
Kevin Stefanski with Browns players (Via Akron Beacon Journal)
Then you got PJ Walker, you got the rookie DTR. Then all of a sudden you go to Ballpen one more time and you bring in Joe Flacco, who hasn't played and nobody knows what he is gonna do.
He added.

The prominent commentator argued that the Browns are standing at a remarkable 11-5, which no one had expected out of them, considering their couple of back-to-back losses when they were sitting at 7-5 after a couple of losses. 

Then you get injuries to your offensive tackles..you are losing your starting safety. Everything that's happened to most teams in the NFL, they gets dismantled in no time. The season is over! But Browns, they just keep coming up with answers and a way to adjust and find new ways to win.
Continuing further, he concluded

But they struck back, and right now, they have a four-game winning streak with an amazing quarterback like Joe Flacco.

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