A disappointing 2025 season for the Cleveland Browns concluded Sunday in deceptively encouraging fashion. The Browns not only garnered their fifth victory via a 20-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but Myles Garrett also set a new NFL single-season sack record by recording his 23rd quarterback takedown of the season at the expense of Joe Burrow.
Nevertheless, as soon as the final gun sounded, two men whose fates became inexorably tied over the course of the 2025 campaign — head coach Kevin Stefanski and rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders — headed into an offseason replete with uncertainty.
Shedeur Sanders Credits Kevin Stefanski for Aiding Rookie-Season Growth
The start of Sanders’ somewhat turbulent first year as a professional has been amply publicized. Originally expected by some to go as high as the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders instead slid all the way to the fifth round and wasn’t even the first quarterback taken by Cleveland in this year’s class.
To his credit, Sanders appeared to keep his head down as the dominoes slowly began to fall in Cleveland. Joe Flacco, who opened the season as the starter, was eventually traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7.
Sanders’ fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel was subsequently promoted to the starting job, but the latter’s concussion in a Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens paved the way for Sanders’ first taste of NFL regular-season action.
Despite a rocky beginning that included a 4-for-16, 47-yard, one-interception performance and Stefanski’s admission that Sanders hadn’t logged any reps with the first-team offense prior to being thrust into emergency action, Sanders was able to garner enough trust to remain the starter for the remainder of the season, even when Gabriel was healthy.
The relationship between Sanders and Stefanski naturally also evolved significantly as a result. In his final postgame press conference of the season, the rookie signal-caller offered some insight into how he processed that experience.
“He’s been real tough, real tough,” Sanders said of his coach (per Ashly Holder). “It’s good, and I think I grew and learned a lot from him. This week we had a conversation just about things, and I feel like we grew to understand each other.”
#Browns QB Shedeur Sanders on his relationship with HC Kevin Stefanski:
“He’s been real tough, real tough. It’s good, and I think I grew and learned a lot from him. This week we had a conversation just about things, and I feel like we grew to understand each other.” pic.twitter.com/HtXDHTJDbS
— Ashly Holder (@AshNoelleTV) January 4, 2026
Sanders undeniably had his fair share of rough patches throughout his seven-game starting tenure, throwing multiple interceptions in three of his last four contests and falling short of 200 passing yards on five occasions.
Sanders also struggled with pocket awareness at times despite his above-average mobility, taking 23 sacks overall. As such, there was no shortage of “teachable moments” for Sanders that surely led to plenty of conversations with Stefanski, who remains a highly respected offensive mind despite his struggles as head coach over the last two seasons.
Sanders, Stefanski Have Uncertain 2026 Outlooks
Despite Sanders’ appreciation for the opportunity to learn from Stefanski, the reality is that the quarterback and head coach may have just completed their final week as colleagues.
Sanders does figure to remain on the Browns’ roster next season, although after going into Week 18 with a No. 44 PFSN QB Impact Score of 57.0 (F), he’ll undoubtedly have to compete to have any chance at remaining the starter in 2026.
Stefanski’s fate is much less certain. After a combined 8-26 record over the last two regular seasons, Stefanski’s time in Cleveland could realistically be done as early as the infamous Black Monday (Jan. 5), less than 24 hours from the conclusion of the Browns’ Week 18 game.
However, irrespective of what unfolds, it appears Sanders genuinely believes Stefanski provided him, with the help of some occasional tough love, a solid foundation upon which to continue attempting to forge a successful path in the NFL.
