For Cleveland Browns fans, two of the most anticipated games of the 2026 NFL season might not even involve their favorite team. With some lingering hard feelings from one former member of the organization toward another, the upcoming meetings between Baker Mayfield and Kevin Stefanski should draw plenty of interest.
With their own quarterback and head coaching situation leaving a lot to be desired, those fans can turn their attention to the games between Mayfield’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Stefanski’s Atlanta Falcons in their new NFC South rivalry. For his part, the quarterback certainly can’t wait, as he made his feelings clear about how he was traded away by Stefanski and the Browns almost four years ago.
Mayfield took to social media to send a warning to the coach, and now Stefanski has addressed that criticism with a more measured approach, saying he has “a ton of respect for Baker.”
“I love rivalries. I would not get into the specifics of those hype of things other than to say I have a ton of respect for Baker as a player and a person,” Stefanski said.
Kevin Stefanski on Baker Mayfield's comments: "I love rivalries. I would not get into the specifics of those hype of things other than to say I have a ton of respect for Baker as a player and a person."
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) January 27, 2026
The No. 1 overall pick by Cleveland in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield helped the Browns reach the playoffs in the 2020 season, Stefanski’s first as their head coach. After a disappointing, injury-plagued year in 2021, Cleveland traded for Deshaun Watson and sent Mayfield away to the Carolina Panthers.
Fast forward to this month, when Stefanski was hired by the Falcons, and a reporter blamed his firing by the Browns on a “failed” quarterback situation, which arguably was true. That riled up Mayfield, who said he never heard from Stefanski after being discarded by the Browns and felt like he was treated “like a piece of garbage.”
Though that back-and-forth may be interesting to watch from afar, the Browns have significantly more pressing matters at hand. Cleveland is entering its fourth week searching for Stefanski’s replacement, despite the momentum that was building toward Nate Scheelhaase being hired as his successor.
With the job remaining open, and Todd Monken and Jim Schwartz perhaps the only remaining options to fill it, it’s hard to blame some fans for looking for NFL entertainment elsewhere.
NEXT: Insider Clears The Air About Browns' Head Coaching Search Process
