After dropping to 1-5 on the season via a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski faces his toughest challenge yet with 11 games to go in 2025

Six of the last seven Cleveland Browns coaches before Kevin Stefanski arrived in Cleveland in 2020 were fired after regular season losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That list includes the likes of Hue Jackson, Mike Pettine, Rod Chudzinksi, Pat Shurmur, Eric Mangini and Romeo Crennel. It's a who's, who of failed Browns coaches. 

Stefanski isn't likely to suffer the same fate as so many of his predecessors following the Browns 23-9 loss to the Steelers in Week 6. That doesn't mean it won't heavily weigh into Stefanski's future with the team. 

Now sitting at 1-5 on the season, the vibes in Cleveland feel extremely fragile. It didn't help that before facing off with their biggest rivals this week, the Browns made two trades that shook-up the dynamics of the locker room, sending Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals in deal to land a fifth-round pick and Greg Newsome II to the Jacksonville Jaguars to bring back CB Tyson Campbell. 

On the surface, both deals make sense. Flacco had been benched just one week prior and with Cleveland embracing their two rookie QBs in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, there was going to be no point in going back to Flacco at any point this season. 

In Newsome's case, he  was simply in the last year of his rookie deal and if the Browns hadn't extended him to this point, they weren't going to. Campbell is already signed for the foreseeable future and at a cheaper rate than what Newsome would probably command if he kept playing as well as he was so far this season. 

Internally, though, both players played important roles in the locker room. After benching Flacco, Stefanski was quick to highlight that the 40-year-old was a captain, and that his leadership would still be a necessity for the team. 

Newsome, meanwhile, was viewed by many as a "glue guy." His teammates fed off his infectious energy. Star cornerback Denzel Ward cadidly shared that he "shed a tear" for his former teammate's departure. 

Ward was also one of the veterans, along with Joel Bitonio, who said he believed the franchise was still prioritizing winning. From the outside though, it's hard to not read between the lines and see a team that's already starting to get their house in order for bigger plans in 2026.  

Which brings us back to Stefanski and Sunday's loss to the Steelers.

On the heels of last year's disastrous 3-14 campaign, his team is on pace for the exact same win total in 2025. Even more egregious, perhaps, is the fact that the offense he's the architect of is averaging an unfathomable 13.6 points per game this year. That unit has failed to reach even 20 points in 11 straight games dating back to week 13 of last season. 

The situation is teetering on volatile, where one wrong move, one more loss, one more pathetic offensive performance could very well cause starting fracturing what he'sbuilt from the inside out. If Stefanski loses the locker room, it won't much matter that ownership presented this season as a mulligan for their head coach and general manager. All bets are off at that point. 

And that's exactly why Sunday's loss to the Steelers does mean something for Stefanski's future. If things spiral from here it very well may be the beginning of the end for Cleveland's head man. With 11 games to go, this will undoubtedly be his biggest test.