Opinion: If You Want Browns to Fire Kevin Stefanski, I Don't Know What You're Watching

Here's why I think fans calling for Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski to be fired are completely misguided.

Kevin Stefanski is closer to winning NFL Coach of the Year than he is getting a pink slip.

Hear me out.

The Cleveland Browns are coming off a grueling 24-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon and it might seem like an odd thing to make that statement under disappointing circumstances. Cleveland isn't out there playing for feel good moments or for moral victories - and Sunday's plane ride home probably isn't a joyful one.

I get it. You win or you lose. The NFL is unforgiving and sometimes it's throws you curveballs you can't foresee.

But while pretty much every coach in the league needs to approach his craft with a "you're hired to eventually be fired" mentality, I think the Cleveland Browns absolutely have the right guy leading their franchise on the field.

Cleveland didn't lose Sunday because the team was ill-prepared. It didn't lose because they were out-schemed or because of a massive coaching blunder. Short-minded fans point to P.J. Walker's interception with 1:57 to play that ultimately led to the Browns' demise.

There was nothing wrong with that play call on 3rd and 3 - and I'll die on that hill.

It was going to be the last play before the 2-minute warning, which meant Seattle wasn't going to have to burn a timeout just because the Browns ran the football. Plus, if you look at the replay, there were three receivers open. Tip your hat to Jamal Adams, who made a great play to get his helmet on the football.

Kevin Stefanski is 4-3 during the toughest part of the schedule, with a practice squad quarterback. I say that with all due respect to Walker, who's toughness and grit I admire. But he's not a franchise quarterback and he's doing everything he can to fill the void while Deshaun Watson rehabs his injured rotator cuff.

Consider for a moment that the Browns are legitimately fighting for a playoff spot with their franchise quarterback having taken less than half of the offensive snaps this season. The calendar is about to flip to November and Cleveland is a game over .500, with an excellent defense (that ultimately didn't make quite enough plays early in Sunday's loss) and one of the most reliable special teams units in the league.

How many other coaches have their teams playing winning football without so many of their best players available each week?

It's not Kevin Stefanski's fault the Browns have suffered a slew of injuries to critical players. Starting right tackle Jack Conklin is out for the remainder of the season and his backup (rookie Dawand Jones) played with a right shoulder injury on Sunday. Veteran left guard Joel Bitonio snapped his multi-year consecutive snaps streak a couple weeks ago with an injury. Nick Chubb, arguably the best running back in football, is out for the season with a knee injury sustained in Week 2.

Outside of star receiver Amari Cooper, no Browns wide receiver has caught a touchdown pass through the team's first seven games. Elijah Moore has done a reasonably good job, but Cleveland needs help in that position room. Tight end David Njoku has played with incredible effort, especially considering the burns he suffered to his hands and face a couple weeks ago.

Walker's deficiencies are impossible to ignore. He's doing the best he can, but he's thrown one touchdown pass and five interceptions. It's been awfully difficult for him to stand in the pocket and allow for a play to develop in front of him, and then deliver a throw with pinpoint accuracy. He's competing hard and his teammates seem to genuinely love him ... but he hasn't shown an ability to put a team on his back and go win them the game.

Frankly, I think Stefanski's play-calling on Sunday was brilliant. I loved the way he catered to Walker's strengths. Screen passes, misdirection runs, counters, quick slants and a few shot plays here and there. He regularly had Seattle defenders off-balance because they were getting burned for being over-aggressive. The three play calls in subsequent order leading to Cleveland's first touchdown were masterful.

And more than anything, I don't get any sense whatsoever when I've been in the locker room the last few weeks that he's lost the team. Internally, nobody is panicking about the direction of the team. Is everyone disappointed with a second loss this year that felt so much like a win? Of course. But nobody is questioning leadership.

Look, I'm not saying let's build a statue and sign Kevin Stefanski to a life-time contract. It's a results-oriented business and the Browns ultimately lost on Sunday. Twice they've fallen in gut-wrenching fashion. It's hard to walk away from this game feeling good. But the crowd that's calling for a coaching change in Cleveland needs to relax.

Kevin Stefanski is not the problem.