Kevin Stefanski’s stubborn stance against Deshaun Watson will lead to his firing

At this point, it seems impossible for Kevin Stefanski to believe that Deshaun Watson is the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. At the very least, it seems impossible for him to believe that Jameis Winston would do worse than Deshaun Watson this season. But after another dismal performance from Watson, the Browns head coach didn’t mince words about who the Browns’ QB is.

“We don’t change quarterbacks. We gotta play better, I gotta coach better,” Stefanski said after the game after Watson threw for just 125 yards and Cleveland was defeated 34-13 by Washington, leaving the Browns 1-4.

There’s exactly one reason why Cleveland continues to take on Deshaun Watson every Sunday only to turn around and lead the Browns to defeat, and that’s the fact that he’s making $230 million for it. As head coach, Stefanski has to be the one to publicly defend Watson, but how much power does he really have to decide each week whether Watson is the team’s QB? It’s hard to believe that Stefanski – who, despite everything, has been a largely successful Browns coach – believes Watson gives the team the best chance to win.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslem, meanwhile, defended Watson’s contract in 2023 when asked if he regrets the deal.

If the Browns bench Deshaun Watson, then his $230 million contract and the pieces Cleveland traded up to acquire him are officially wasted. But if the Browns continue to use him even when he’s actively hurting the team, isn’t that worse than him doing nothing on the bench? It’s like the book “Catch-22″… or something.

Of course, the Browns players and coaches would probably prefer to field a quarterback who gives the team a chance to win games. But the Browns’ front office – particularly owner Jimmy Haslem – would probably rather try to save face by letting Stefanski play Watson every week to avoid the headache of having one of the highest-paid players in NFL history on the roster to sit on the bench.

That’s a legitimate question.

Stefanski isn’t innocent in the Browns’ 1-4 start, but he is could be blameless Deshaun Watson is still the Browns’ starting quarterback despite what he said in Sunday’s press conference. If Stefanski is the one who decides to continue starting Watson week after week, then perhaps he is training himself for the hot seat. If that’s not the case, and Brown’s possessiveness is in his ear telling him that Watson needs to keep starting, then things in Cleveland could be worse than they look on the field – and things look really bad on the field!