The Cleveland Browns are once again standing at a familiar, albeit painful, crossroads. With the firing of Kevin Stefanski, a new era begins in a city where quarterback stability has been a myth for the better part of two decades. To understand the gravity of the situation, one only needs to look at the history books, since 2001, only Tim Couch (2001) and Baker Mayfield (2019, 2020) have managed to start every single game of a season for this franchise. Hard to competitive in the NFL without a solid starter.
The 2025 campaign did little to break that cycle, as Cleveland cycled through Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. While Sanders provided a late-season spark, leading the team to a 3-4 record in the final stretch with a two-game winning streak, the honeymoon phase might be over before it truly begins. Whoever takes the headset in Cleveland will have to reconcile Sanders’ potential with a set of advanced metrics that are, frankly, hard to ignore.
Shedeur Ranked Dead Last Among all Starting Quarterbacks.
While the raw numbers from Sanders’ rookie season-1,400 yards and seven touchdowns, showed flashes of a professional starter, his ten interceptions served as a persistent red flag. However, the most damning evidence comes from ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating (QBR).
According to the latest analytics, Sanders allegedly ranks at the absolute bottom of the league among starters. On a scale of 0-100 adjusted for defensive strength, the “King of the Hill” was Drake Maye with a blistering 77.2, followed by the efficiency of Brock Purdy and Jordan Love at 73.1. Sanders, meanwhile, found himself in the statistical basement.
For an incoming head coach, these “bottom-of-the-barrel” dropbacks create immediate tension. Sanders clearly has the physical tools, specifically an elite ability to use his legs to extend plays, a trait that modern play-callers like Liam Coen and Ben Johnson have used to transform young QBs into stars.
But the turnover problem is a massive hurdle. This offseason, Sanders won’t be handed the keys, he is headed for a grueling three-way battle with Dillon Gabriel and Deshaun Watson. For Watson, 2026 represents a final “last dance” in the NFL after a year away, and he may find a new coach more inclined to trust a veteran arm over a rookie coming off a last-place ranking.
Cleveland’s High-Stakes Coaching Search
The coaching landscape is currently a game of musical chairs, with eight teams searching for a new leader. While Cleveland boasts a terrifying, top-tier defense led by Myles Garrett and a promising rookie core, it remains a complicated destination for top-tier candidates. The defense was the only reason the Browns stayed competitive this year, masking an offense that was essentially non-existent for long stretches. The primary task for the next hire, ideally an offensive-minded specialist, is to solve the lack of production on the scoreboard.
The statistics are sobering: Cleveland’s offense managed to crack the 20-point mark only six times all year. Even more concerning were the six games where they were held to 13 points or fewer. A new head coach isn’t just coming in to manage a roster; they are coming in to perform surgery on a unit that has struggled to find an identity. Whether that identity centers around a rejuvenated Shedeur Sanders or a veteran pivot, the pressure to produce immediate results in the “Dawg Pound” is necessary for the front office.
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