Is this the end for Kevin Stefanski as Browns coach?

So is this the end of the line for Kevin Stefanski? Is the Browns' two-time NFL Coach of the Year going to coach his last game in Cleveland on Sunday, when the Browns lose to the Steelers by a score still to be determined? Or will the warden grant the Browns' embattled coach one final curtain call a week from today in the team's final game of the season, in Cincinnati? So many questions, so much chaos, so much gruel to digest. But then, that is what we will likely get, given the track record of the NFL's most discombobulated franchise, fraught as it consistently is with the end of still another utterly empty, make-it-up-as-we-go-along season. One would think that, given the humiliating circumstances that brought Stefanski to Cleveland, only after Browns officials, initially and quite hilariously enough, thought that Freddie Kitchens was the right coaching call the year before, that Stefanski has suffered enough at the hands of Cleveland's football funhouse. But no. We were wrong. Not only has the circus not left town, but the clowns are building a bigger tent. Swell. In the meantime, the other NFL franchises are franchising, while the franchise in Cleveland is busy once again, chasing its tail. On the plus side, the end of this circus is finely within sight. Only two more games to go! That, however, isn't good news for Stefanski, the only Browns coach to win two NFL Coach of the Year awards, who, for the last two seasons, has sort of been a quarterback wrangler, minus a quality quarterback. For an NFL coach, that is never a good thing. However, it fits the Browns, who for too many years than we want to count, have themselves never been a good thing. A reminder of that football cluelessness will be on display Sunday, when a team with a clue will roll into Cleveland happily lodged in first place in the AFC North with a record of 9-6. That is only six more wins than the Browns have, but who is counting? It is an unfortunate circumstance that these two football rivals, one of which has, believe it or not, actually won some Super Bowls, the other of which once employed Kitchens and Jackson. For those scoring at home, here is the current scorecard: In the last 57 years, the Steelers have had three coaches. In the last 60 years, the Browns have had 21 coaches. Only one of those teams has won a Super Bowl. Guess who? Go ahead, I will wait. OK, time is up. In the last 57 years, the Steelers have had three head coaches: Mike Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll. In the last 60 years the Browns have had 21 coaches. I could give you the list of those Browns coaches, but who are we kidding, right? The shorthand version of the Browns coaches goes like this: Paul Brown, and a lot of other guys. The latest guy is Stefanski, who as coach of the Browns once won a playoff game in Pittsburgh while he was sitting at home, in Cleveland, battling COVID. That may have been the year he won one of his two Coach of the Year Awards. The number of Browns coaches who have won the NFL Coach of the Year Award since then: none. Zero. Nil. Stefanski, however, may be the next Browns coach to not be the Browns coach. The team hardly ever wins a game, which doesn't look good on any coach's resume, even if he does have a couple of Coach of the Year trophies. Browns fans are understandably uncomfortable rooting for a team whose coach hasn't won a Super Bowl, even if that coach does have two Coach of the Year trophies. The shelf life for a head coach who is the coach of a team that hasn't won a lot of games recently is not very long. Stefanski's shelf life seems to be dwindling. That bodes well for Browns fans who want a new coach, the sooner, the better. The shelf life on Stefanski, based on the lack of Coach of the Year trophies that he has not won since Monday is not very impressive. Football fans tend not to be overly patient when things don't go their way, in a lack of patience way. Some of Stefanski's decisions, say for example, his odd decision to relinquish the offensive play-calling duties, not once, but twice, even though he is the head coach, has drawn some criticism and raised eyebrows. But stuff like that sometimes happens in the NFL. The fans of the best teams don't care. The fans of the worst teams do. In case you hadn't noticed, Browns fans are the fans of one of the worst teams. In sports, things don't always go the way you want them to go. Your honor, the defense rests. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.