Kevin Stefanski: A Brief Biography

Kevin Stefanski is an American football head coach for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Stefanski signed a contract extension with the Browns in June 2024. He won NFL Coach of the Year in 2020, making history as the first Browns coach to win the trophy since 1976 and the first since the organization's 1999 return. Three seasons later, he again won the NFL Coach of the Year in 2023.

From 2006 to 2019, Stefanski worked for the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant coach, spending his last two seasons as the team's offensive coordinator. In 2020, Stefanski departed from Minnesota to take a head coaching position with the Browns, where he guided the franchise to its first playoff spot since 2002. He went to the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 and then played a defensive back. However, he went undrafted in 2005 and began his coaching career with the Penn Quackers as an assistant director of football operations.

Kevin Stefanski's Personal Information

Kevin Stefanski's Early Life, Personal Life, and Family Background

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kevin Stefanski was born on May 8, 1982, to Ed, an NBA executive, and Karen Stefanski. He went to St. Joseph's Preparatory School. Graduating in 2000, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania and went on to become Quakers Freshman of the Year.

As a defensive back, Stefanski was a member of the only Penn team to go undefeated during the decade. In 2002, he was selected to the first team of the Ivy League. In July 2007, while serving as the Minnesota Vikings head coach's assistant, Stefanski married Michelle McCarthy. The couple has three children: a daughter and two sons.

Kevin Stefanski Contract & Salary

In 2020, Kevin Stefanski made about $3.5 million a year with the Browns after being hired, according to Pro Football Network. Among the NFL's youngest coaches, Stefanski in 2024 got his contract renewed. The Cleveland Browns' head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry have been associated with the team since 2020. However, the new agreements' durations were not disclosed. (via ESPN)

The owners of the Browns, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, announced in March 2024 that they were close to signing Berry and Stefanski to contract extensions during the NFL's annual meetings in Orlando, Florida.

According to ESPN, the Browns have finally discovered the coach-general manager combination that has been missing since the team's 1999 return to the NFL in Stefanski and Berry. The Browns boast the best winning percentage (.535) of any team since 2020, and first after 1986–1989. Their regular season record is 38-33, as of September 2024, and they have made it to the playoffs twice, in 2020 and 2023. In the latter season, Deshaun Watson, the quarterback, and Nick Chubb, the running back, suffered season-ending injuries, but Stefanski still managed to lead Cleveland to the postseason.

Kevin Stefanski Coaching History

University of Pennsylvania (2005)

Kevin Stefanski's coaching career began with the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 as an assistant director of football operations.

Minnesota Vikings (2006-2019)

In 2006, Stefanski joined the Minnesota Vikings to serve as head coach Brad Childress's assistant. He was elevated to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2009 and remained in that role until the 2013 season. Stefanski survived three coaching changes with the Vikings, including Leslie Frazier, Mike Zimmer, and Brad Childress.

After Scott Turner was fired in 2017, Stefanski was given the position of quarterbacks coach for the Vikings, and he assisted in turning the team into the NFL's 10th-highest scoring offense. Under Stefanski, quarterback Case Keenum had his greatest season with just seven interceptions and 22 touchdown passes. He had previously worked with the tight ends in 2014 and 2015, as well as the running backs in 2016.

The Minnesota Vikings turned down the next York Giants' request in 2017 to interview and select Stefanski as their next offensive coordinator. However, Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo was fired since the Seattle Seahawks defeated the team 21-7. Thus, he was replaced by Stefanski as interim offensive coordinator and was made permanent in 2019.

Cleveland Browns (2020-present)

Shortly after the Minnesota Vikings' NFC playoff loss, Stefanski accepted a five-year contract in January 2020 to become the 18th head coach of the Cleveland Browns. He lost in his coaching debut against the Baltimore Ravens, further extending the losing streak of 16th week 1 loss. But he eventually earned his first win as a head coach, against the Cincinnati Bengals 35-30.

Stefanski won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award for his efforts in the 2020 season. In 2021, the Browns defeated the Steelers 48-37, their first victory in the playoffs since 1994. After leading the Browns to two winning seasons (11-6) and another playoff appearance in 2023. He received yet another Associated Press Coach of the Year award. His contract was further extended in June 2024 with the Browns.

Kevin Stefanski’s Achievements and Awards

Kevin Stefanski’s awards and achievements are as follows:

NFL Coach of the Year (2020, 2023)

Stefanski won the associated press NFL Coach of the Year award in 2020 and 2023. In the former season, after his ninth win for the team in December 2020, against the Tennessee Titans 41-35. He became the first Browns head coach to lead the team to a winning season since Romeo Crennel in 2007.

Further in 2020, Stefanski led the Browns to an 11-5 record and a third-place finish in the AFC North; he led the team's first playoff appearance since 2002. Thus, he was the first award winner since Forrest Gregg in 1976. The 2023 season was the Browns' second playoff appearance. It was also the first since Marty Schottenheimer's era that the Browns did so, winning another NFL Coach of the Year award.

First-team All-Ivy League (2002)

Kevin Stefanski was named for the first-team All-Ivy League in the 2002 season while playing for the University of Pennsylvania.

Kevin Stefanski Coaching Tree

Kevin Stefanski’s coaching tree, according to USA Today, is as follows:

Kevin Stefanski Family

Stefanski was raised in a basketball family in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania; his father, Ed, has spent more than 20 years working as an NBA executive. However, according to a Twin Cities Pioneer Press story, Kevin never advanced above junior varsity and chose to concentrate on football instead. He said to the newspaper, "My (three) brothers and I played basketball growing up, but at least for me, football became something I was much better at than I was at basketball." "So I fell in love with the game way back when."

Kevin Stefanski’s parents

Kevin Stefanski's parents are Edward and Karen Stefanski. His father, Edward, also known as Ed, was a former NBA guard for the Philadelphia Tigers and is the senior advisor to the Detroit Pistons. However, not much is known about his mother.

From 1999 to 2007, Ed was the general manager, senior vice president of basketball operations, and director of scouting for the New Jersey Nets. Then, he was hired as the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers from 2007 to 2011. After which, he joined the Toronto Raptor as the executive vice president of basketball operations from 2011 to 2013. He joined the Memphis Grizzlies' vice president of player personnel in 2014. In 2018, he held the position of the senior advisor for the owner of the Detroit Pistons. After two seasons, he was voted third-place winner of the 2020 NBA Executive of the Year award.

The 6-foot-1-inch Pennsylvania native, Ed, went to St. Bernadette's Grade School in Drexel Hill. Later, he played basketball at Monsignor Bonner High School in Upper Darby, where he was a "Wall-of-Fame" player. He later played college basketball at the University of Pennsylvania as "the shot." In the 1976 NBA Draft, Ed was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 168th overall pick in the 10th round.

Kevin Stefanski’s wife

Kevin Stefanski's wife is Michell McCarthy; they married in July 2007, as per Browns Nation. He was then serving as an assistant under Brad Childress, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. They had three kids during Kevin's time with the Vikings: Juliette, a daughter, and Will and Gabe, two sons.

In Kevin Stefanski’s introductory press conference in 2020, he said, “I also need to acknowledge my family here. My wife Michelle, my boys Will and Gabe, my daughter Juliette. If anyone with young children and if you have moved before, you know it is a tough 48 hours we have been through. We have made some promises to these children. We are getting a dog, we are going to Disney World and lord knows what else has been promised since you guys got here.”