The Cleveland Browns are officially in need of a new head coach.
On Monday, the team relieved head coach Kevin Stefanski of his duties, ending his six-year tenure and ushering in a new era of Cleveland football. While Stefanski’s replacement is not immediately clear, the coach is expected to find work quickly.
Kevin Stefanski Could Find New Home in NFC
The Browns have plenty of justification for firing Stefanski, who has won eight games over the last two seasons and lost the momentum of his early-tenure offenses. Still, Stefanski has an impressive resume, experience as a successful play-caller, and plenty of fans around the league.
Subsequently, there is reason to believe that Stefanski may not wait long for his second stint as an NFL head coach. According to Mike Garafolo, the New York Giants make sense as a landing spot, citing quarterback Jaxson Dart and a suboptimal market of offensive minds.
“Half the league is called by the head coach on offense,” Garafolo said on “Good Morning Football.” “So that widdles it down. And then you’ve got some guys that are retreads and might get fired themselves as offensive coordinators. So that’s what makes Stefanski attractive for some teams with, let’s say, young quarterbacks.
“Let’s say, the New York Giants. They’ve got themselves a quarterback in Jaxson Dart that they want to be able to bring someone who is experienced and potentially has that element on the offensive side of the ball, even if he doesn’t call it.”
From @gmfb: The #Browns fire HC Kevin Stefanski, which makes him an immediate candidate for other jobs and I’d expect the #Giants to have interest. pic.twitter.com/Fne73a78Kh
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 5, 2026
With multiple jobs open and more to come, Stefanski’s skill set should land him interviews in the coming days.
It’s worth noting that Stefanski has lost some luster as a play-caller, largely due to turbulence at the quarterback position. Quarterbacks Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders piloted a Cleveland offense that ranked dead last by PFSN’s NFL Offense Impact Metric in 2025. A year prior, Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston took the majority of snaps for a team that suffered the same fate.
Stefanski won’t be in the building to pick the Browns’ next quarterback, and while he cannot be divorced from the struggles of his passers (or the decisions to acquire them), New York can upgrade with his presence.
A two-time Coach of the Year winner, Stefanski has made the playoffs with both a young quarterback (Baker Mayfield) and a hot-handed backup (Flacco). Injuries and maturity issues cost Mayfield a longer Browns tenure, but Stefanski played an integral role in righting the ship, winning 11 games in his first year as head coach.
MORE: Kevin Stefanski Contract and Salary: How Much Do the Browns Owe After Firing the HC?
The Giants could reasonably expect Stefanski to deliver a similar outcome, taking over a struggling team with an ascending young quarterback. Clearly, he has shown the ability to foster that development and pry open a competitive window, even if things eventually went south.
“I agree with you guys when you say Kevin Stefanski is going to be an attractive candidate as a head coach for other teams with vacancies,” Garafolo continued. “The question is, what does he want to do?”
Dart, who ranked 24th in PFSN’s NFL QB Impact Metric as a rookie, is the biggest pull factor for a potential head coach. Stefanski fits the archetype and timeline for a New York team hoping to capitalize on a rookie contract. His track record of maximizing unsteady quarterbacks could quickly take him off the market.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
