Kevin Stefanski was seen as Public Enemy No. 1 by Shedeur Sanders’ fans while he was head coach of the Cleveland Browns. From his viral reaction on draft day, through training camp and the preseason, all the way until he finally had no choice but to play the rookie quarterback, Stefanski was marked as the one person responsible for holding Sanders back.
Fast forward to today, and Stefanski is the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and Sanders is the Browns’ incumbent starting quarterback. It is easy to think that one definitely has to do with the other, and vice versa.
However, Stefanski recently made some eye-opening comments about Sanders and said he is “rooting for him.”
“I love Shedeur. I loved coaching him, seriously. He’s got the right makeup for this game. He was wired the right way. I wish that we won more obviously, but if you saw how he played down the stretch, I mean, he’s a young player that’s getting better. I am rooting for him,” Stefanski said.
Kevin Stefanski talking Shedeur on @PardonMyTake today
“I love Shedeur. I loved coaching him, seriously. He’s got the right makeup for this game, he was wired the right way. I wish that we won more obviously, but if you saw how he played down the stretch, I mean he’s a young… pic.twitter.com/JothWN6eFE
— DollarDog Nick (@DollarDogNick) February 27, 2026
Stefanski can take the high road as Sanders is no longer his problem, so to speak. But his comments align with what almost everybody has to say about Sanders, which is that his personality fits within the structure of a team and that his work ethic should be admired.
Whether that leads to the kind of NFL success his fans feel he is destined for is another matter entirely. After losing out in the four-man preseason competition and then remaining behind Dillon Gabriel after Joe Flacco was benched, Sanders finally got to make his NFL debut in Week 11 when Gabriel was put into concussion protocol.
Stefanski left him as the starter for the rest of the season, and in the games that followed, Sanders did show improvement in key areas, such as completion percentage and avoiding sacks, but he still struggled with interceptions. Despite helping Cleveland to three wins, the statistical metrics showed it was one of the worst performances ever by an NFL quarterback.
So, maybe Stefanski was right in thinking that Sanders didn’t deserve to play. Or maybe the coach’s overall treatment meant Sanders was destined to fail.
Either way, neither has to deal with the other anymore, so it’s probably in both of their best interests to wish each other well and move on.
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