It almost seems like it would take a first year head coach to get the Cleveland Browns out of the NFL’s longest playoff drought – and if he gets them there after an 11-5 season, that’s the franchise’s best record since 1994. He has a unique virus that will make him miss the game.
That would be Kevin Stefanski, a long-time member of the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff, most recently as offensive coordinator, and a name that had been a hot item among the head coach candidates in recent years. Recently he has been the preferred choice over other candidates within the Browns organization. Now those who decided against him are gone and he has his team in the playoffs.
He just can’t communicate with them while the game is on. And the head coach who would face him, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, feels for Stefanski. The two worked together in 2006 on the staff of the Vikings.
“I’m sensitive to this,” he said when the Browns spoke about their head coach on the Mike Tomlin Show last night. “I feel for him personally. Kevin and I have known each other for a long time. We worked together at the Minnesota Vikings. “
It goes deeper, of course. Stefanski is not the first coach or even head coach to contract the virus, although this is the biggest stage it has occurred to date. But everyone knew all year round that this was possible.
“Professionally, it’s something we’ve all been dealing with continuously this 2020 season and in the playoffs, so we’re all very aware of how fragile these environments are and how we’re participating in the process,” said Tomlin. “I think we’ve all lived our lives with this understanding since summer, and it’s not shocking from that point of view.”
“In fact, it has become a bit of a routine from that standpoint,” he continued, “to check our status on a daily basis to see who is available to us and then make it a productive day.” This is the professional lifestyle we’ve really been living since July 20th. “
Later in the interview, he noticed that he wakes up early every morning and waits for an email with the test results for his players and staff from the day before so he understands who he has to work with that day – even if they can practice.
It was the reality of every team this year which – hopefully – made the 2020 season a unique one that has affected the Browns in unprecedented ways. Of course, I don’t wish them the best. I actually hope they lose a lot. But that’s because they play the Steelers.
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