The Opening Drive 12/13: Considering The Necessary Staff Changes Outside The Head Coach
In a movement towards more accountability, some changes are a must, at the very least.
If the Browns ultimately decide to keep Kevin Stefanski this offseason, they cannot pretend that continuity alone is a plan. Keeping the head coach should not mean preserving a staff that has repeatedly failed in areas highly responsible for week-to-week losses. If Stefanski returns, two coaching changes must be non-negotiable: special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone and wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea cannot be part of the 2026 staff.
Special teams have been a persistent liability, not an occasional inconvenience. Poor field position, breakdowns in coverage, missed assignments, and a general lack of discipline have consistently put the Browns behind before the offense ever takes the field. This is not about one bad bounce or a kicker having an off day. It is about repetitive failures. Special teams are supposed to be one of the more coachable phases of the game, built on precision, accountability, and repetition. When mistakes repeat themselves week after week, the issue is no longer execution; it is coaching. Keeping Ventrone would send the wrong message about standards. Stefanski has often spoken about “hidden yards” and situational football, yet the Browns routinely lose those margins. If the organization wants to claim it is serious about winning on the edges, special teams must be rebuilt from the ground up with a coach who treats that phase as a major factor in playing complementary football, not an afterthought.
On the offensive side of the ball, the wide receiver room has been equally troubling. Chad O’Shea’s unit has not consistently produced or developed young wide receivers let alone coaching them on the nuances of playing the position. Drop issues, poor spacing, and a lack of urgency at the top of routes or effort in finishing plays have shown up regardless of who is under center. Even accounting for unstable quarterback play, the wide receivers have too often failed to help the offense stay on schedule or create any kind of play above what is expected in critical moments.
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Good wide receiver coaching shows up in the small things: receivers uncovering versus zone, finishing routes when plays break down, and providing quarterbacks with clear, trustworthy windows. The Browns have not had that. Too many snaps end with receivers losing at the catch point or failing make an adequate effort on contested throws. That is not just a talent-only problem. That is a development and teaching problem.
If Stefanski remains, the Browns will almost certainly be entering another transitional year offensively, likely with a young quarterback and a restructured depth chart. That makes wide receiver coaching even more critical. You cannot pair instability at quarterback with instability in receiver execution and expect progress. A new voice, a new teaching style, and a clearer identity that includes more toughness are needed in that room.
This is where Stefanski’s future truly hangs in the balance. If he is kept, he must be empowered to make uncomfortable decisions. Loyalty cannot outweigh results. The Browns cannot sell a return to accountability while retaining coaches whose units have consistently underperformed.
Keeping Stefanski does not have to mean stagnation. In fact, it only works if it comes with real change. Replacing Bubba Ventrone and Chad O’Shea would not be scapegoating, it would be acknowledging reality. If the Browns want 2026 to be anything other than a repeat of the same frustrations, these changes have to happen.
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