00:00The Giants start interviewing head coaching candidates as early as this week.
00:04So here's our New York Post Sports coaches spotlight.
00:07And you guys know this man, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
00:11Now he was fired by the Browns after six seasons.
00:13He had a record of 45 and 56 during his tenure.
00:17And that included going an abysmal 5 and 12 in 2025 and a combined 8 and 26 over the past two years.
00:26So is Kevin Stefanski the offensive-minded head coach with experience that can come in and win right away?
00:34Let's look at the pros in his resume.
00:36In his first season as head coach with the Browns in 2020, he went and turned things around right away.
00:42They went at 11-5 with a first-round playoff win.
00:45And that was actually one of two 11-win seasons under Stefanski because he had another one as recent as 2023 and two postseason appearances in six years.
00:55He also won coach of the year twice.
00:58Now, only one playoff win, yes.
01:01But when you look deeper into those seasons in 2020, he won a playoff game on the road in Pittsburgh with Baker Mayfield as a starter.
01:09And in 2023, he took the Browns to the playoffs again with four different quarterbacks starting games that season.
01:16Joe Flacco was the one who played in the playoff game that year.
01:20And I think there were spurts of that season when we were talking about Flacco for MVP.
01:25And that, in my opinion, is one of the biggest or biggest pro and reason that I think he should strongly be considered for the head coaching job for the Giants.
01:34His ability to win and stay somewhat competitive with different quarterbacks.
01:39In fact, he went through nine starting quarterbacks in six years.
01:42And he's never had a franchise quarterback in the Browns offense, still were consistently in the top half of the league in scoring and also efficiency.
01:52Jackson Dart's development, in my opinion, and a lot of opinions out there within the fan base, is the top priority in this coaching search.
02:02Jackson knows who Kevin Stefanski is.
02:04And he was asked about what that duo could and would look like.
02:08Yeah, Coach Stefanski was great.
02:12He's had a really good career, especially from the offensive side of things.
02:18You know, and I thought that, you know, the visit with him and his staff went well.
02:23And I think he's a really good coach.
02:26So success with Joe Flacco, yes.
02:28But he wasn't able to get the most out of Deshaun Watson, Dylan Gabriel, and Shador Sanders.
02:34But they ain't Jackson Dart.
02:35I like this fit.
02:36Jackson Dart has showed that he's most effective off of, what, play action, rhythm throws, RPO looks, and movement, getting him out of the pocket.
02:46And that's in Kevin Stefanski's wheelhouse right there.
02:48The Browns ranked near the top in play action rate multiple seasons.
02:52And under Stefanski, they were consistently ranked among the lowest in QB pressure rate allowed when they were healthy up front.
03:00But in 2025, they were absolutely decimated with injuries on the offensive line.
03:05And neither Dylan Gabriel nor Shador could be comfortable as rookie quarterbacks.
03:10So a heavy dose of play action and protect the money, that's what Kevin Stefanski could bring to this Giants offense.
03:17Now his cons, one playoff win in six years.
03:21For the Browns, or if you're in Cleveland, yeah, that's a damn good thing.
03:25But the Giants need someone that's going to win, win consistently, and take this franchise on some sort of deep playoff run, at least within the next year or two.
03:35Word around the league is he's also a little too conservative when it matters most.
03:39Yeah, he likes to run the football.
03:41There's nothing wrong with that.
03:42That's not necessarily a bad thing.
03:43But his offenses can tend to feel like they're playing not to lose instead of just stepping on someone's throat and putting the games away.
03:53Giants fans don't want punt and pray football.
03:55Now that you have Jackson Dart as QB1, and my man has shown that he can put up points.
04:01Under Stefanski, the Browns also got off to some slow starts.
04:05From 2023 to this past season, his offenses and his teams didn't start fast
04:10and just completely dominate a game from opening kickoff.
04:14There were stretches where in the first quarter, it looked like they were still taking preseason reps.
04:19And because of that, the last three seasons, the Browns have had 10-plus games where they scored 17 or fewer points.
04:27Again, another con.
04:28One playoff win in six seasons.
04:31Several late-season collapses that stopped them from being great and reaching the postseason more than twice.
04:37Giants fans don't want competitive.
04:39They want dangerous.
04:41All right, final thought.
04:42In my opinion, I think Kevin Stefanski will make the final cut and at least be a top-three candidate.
04:48Because when you sit back and you watch his resume or his body of work, he checks all the boxes.
04:53Head coach with experience.
04:54He's had success in the NFL before.
04:56He's an offensive-minded guy that's worked with young quarterbacks before.
05:00And most importantly, he is a coach that has stepped into a complete dumpster fire situation before
05:07and won right away.
05:08Took that team to the playoffs right away.
05:11ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that along with the Giants, the Falcons, and Titans are expected to speak with him as well.
05:19So that there shows that there are other teams who think he did well enough in Cleveland
05:23to deserve at least an interview for another head coaching gig.
05:28You didn't?
