Kevin Stefanski is the 12th head coach of the Cleveland Browns since the franchise re-entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1999. And he’s the first of those 12 to earn three wins over the Steelers.
Stefanski, who notched his third win over the Steelers on Thursday night, is the first Browns coach since Bill Belichick to earn three wins over the Steelers. Belichick beat the Steelers a total of three times in his five seasons as Browns head coach.
Before Thursday night, Stefanski’s Browns previously beat the Steelers twice, in the final game of the 2020 regular season and then a week later in the wild card round of the playoffs. (Stefanski wasn’t actually on the sideline in the Browns’ playoff win over the Steelers, as he had tested positive for COVID-19 that week, but the win still counts on his head-coaching record.)
The AFC North rivalry between the Browns and Steelers has been so one-sided that the Steelers have never finished behind the Browns in the AFC North: The last time the Browns finished ahead of the Steelers in the standings, the year was 1989, the division they played in was the AFC Central, and Bud Carson was the Browns’ head coach. Chuck Noll was coaching the Steelers.
Stefanski may be able to do something this season that the Browns haven’t done in nearly a quarter of a century: Finish ahead of the Steelers in the standings.
