Cleveland Browns assistants sidestep job security questions, focusing solely on finishing the season strong amidst swirling uncertainty about their futures
The future is uncertain for Cleveland Browns' head coach Kevin Stefanski after Week 18, and thus, all of his assistant coaches are in limbo as well.
Their futures will be revealed in the coming days following Sunday's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals to close out the 2025 campaign. Whatever is looming on the other side of the weekend, though, Stefanski's top assistants aren't thinking about it.
"We are so on schedule, on rhythm, like, this is what we do at this time on a Tuesday, on a Wednesday, that really there’s not a whole lot of time to allow distractions to creep in," offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said on Thursday. And I think our focus, again, leadership from Kev, in terms of just where our focus is right now is to finish the season strong."
Those comments are very much in line with those of Stefanski, who has rebuffed on numerous occasions now, questions about his status with the team beyond Sunday. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone waa another top assistant who echoed those we're on to Cincinnati-esque sentiments.
"We’ve been just focused on week to week," Ventrone said of the rumors. "I mean, that’s really how it’s been. I’m sure people speculate, but I really am…I’m excited about the guys that have developed over the course of this season, especially the young guys that have factored for us.”
Reports this week from several national insiders indicate that the Browns have already done some preliminary legwork exploring possible coaching candidates. Those reports also made it clear that nothing official has been decided on Stefanski's future just yet.
A potential change in leadership could leave the Browns looking internally for options to man their sideline. Perhaps even toward veteran defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who has notable NFL head coaching experience.
Schwartz recently told Cleveland.com that he would be open to being another run as a head coach. Asked about it again on Thursday, Schwartz stuck to the same script as his colleagues.
"I’ve answered that question a lot of times, and I just want to keep focus on the Cincinnati Bengals," Schwartz asserted. "Like, we need to finish with a win. We felt good about last week and coming out with a win against a division opponent. Not just a division opponent, but a team that was sort of a quasi-playoff game because if they won, they were in ... so, we took a lot of pride in that, and we’ll take a lot of pride in this game and we’ll keep it focused [on that].
Outside of the team facility, the noise is loud. Inside it, though, no one is willing to talk about it. As much those in charge are trying to keep the blinders on, they also recognize that these conversations come with the territory.
"We all know the business we signed up for, that’s not foreign to any of us, admitted Rees. "So, our focus is how do we get our players ready to go, how do we give ourselves chance to win on Sunday, and let the chips fall where they may.”