Browns HC Kevin Stefanski talks hiring of Mike Vrabel as consultant

While speaking with reporters at the owners meetings on Monday, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the club's noteworthy hiring of former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as a consultant this offseason. 

"From my perspective, we’re very excited to get Vrabes up there," Stefanski remarked, as shared by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I can tell you, just having him and throwing a Browns sweatshirt on him was a big deal for me. Get the kid back up in Northeast Ohio. He’s a person that I really, I feel really strongly about the person and the coach, and I’ve developed a relationship with Vrabes over the years, [Browns general manager Andrew Berry] as well."

Vrabel graduated from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls before he played for the Ohio State Buckeyes during his college days. 

Vrabel failed to land a head coaching job after he was shown the door by Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk in January, and some have speculated since March 15 that the 2021 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year could replace Stefanski in Cleveland as soon as next winter. Stefanski officially became a two-time Coach of the Year in February, but his club is coming off a humiliating 45-14 wild-card playoff loss at the Houston Texans. 

At the very least, some believe starting quarterback Deshaun Watson will be playing for his Cleveland future throughout the 2024 season. Meanwhile, Stefanski indicated on Monday that he reached out to Vrabel about joining the organization ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

"So when he didn’t have a head coaching job this last cycle, I made sure that he knew that we would love to get him up there in some capacity," Stefanski added about Vrabel. "So that was really the beginning of that conversation. But just having him, we had him up there last week, did a great job. He’s a resource. He’s a resource for me. He’s a resource for Andrew and I’m very, very excited to have him." 

Insiders and columnists have insisted that Stefanski's seat is anything but warm this spring. That's all well and good, but such takes don't erase the fact that the Browns now employ a proven head coach who will be quite familiar with the team and could quickly slide into Stefanski's role in the event that the Cleveland roster flops in a major way from this coming September through January 2025.