“I don’t know how he’s kept his job": Ex-NFL HC Bruce Arians raises major question about Browns' Kevin Stefanski after 1-4 record

The Cleveland Browns are looking like their old selves again. The start of the season hasn't been kind to them. Facing some of the most feared names in the league, they only managed to sneak a 13-10 win against the Green Bay Packers.

While there's reason to be optimistic about Dillon Gabriel, things haven't been coming together early on, and they'll be hoping their easier remaining schedule provides hope.

Former NFL head coach Bruce Arians appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday and was asked about Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. He bluntly expressed his coaching perspective on Stefanski.

"I don't know how he's kept his job this long," he said [1:32:00].

Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!

McAfee offered his thoughts on why Stefanski has possibly kept his job for more than five years now, saying:

"I think the reason he's kept his job this long is because, I think, there's an alleged kind of understanding, Haslam's the one that made the [$230 million Deshaun Watson] deal," he said. "'Cause remember, the Cleveland Browns were out of the running. "It was gonna be Atlanta or New Orleans, where [Watson] was gonna get traded to. And then, all of a sudden, out of the clouds, if the story goes the way we've been kind of told, [the Browns] came in with the $230 million guarantee."

McAfee said the media believes Deshaun Watson's record deal handicapped Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to the point where they got a pass for their poor performance.

Bruce Arians comments on whether Kevin Stefanski 'got a pass' due to Deshaun Watson's contract

Bruce Arians disagreed with Pat McAfee's point that Deshaun Watson's unprecedented deal played a role in Kevin Stefanski keeping his job this long.

"No," he said. "For coaches, it's all about winning."

However, he highlighted another reason relating to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Maybe [the Browns] see that continuity does matter. Because they went through so many people so fast in Browns history, that they are copying the Steelers a little bit and saying, 'Let's keep our guys, let's keep our coaches, let's keep some continuity, and we'll put it together.'"

Whether Stefanski is still there for continuity purposes or otherwise, he now has a chance to build on a rookie quarterback in Dillon Gabriel.

Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann