Insider addresses if Mike Vrabel is threat to Browns' Kevin Stefanski

Almost immediately after it was learned Friday that the Cleveland Browns were hiring former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as a consultant, fans understandably wondered if somebody within the Browns possibly viewed Vrabel as a potential future replacement for current Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski.

For a piece published Friday afternoon, Browns insider Zac Jackson of The Athletic noted that "there’s likely nothing to see here" regarding the club building a working relationship with Vrabel after the 2021 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year failed to land a head coaching job this winter. 

"The Browns are in the business of finding every edge and advantage they can in trying to win, so hiring an overqualified person to support the staff should only help that," Jackson explained. "Ahead of a crucial season, the Browns taking a good defense that was a no-show for its playoff game and making it better is a must."

Stefanski officially became a two-time Coach of the Year in February less than one full month after the Browns suffered an embarrassing 45-14 wild-card playoff loss at the Houston Texans. 

For better or for worse, the 41-year-old will forever be linked with Cleveland landing Deshaun Watson from the Texans in March 2022 and with the Browns giving Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract as part of the trade that occurred when numerous allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions hovered over the quarterback's status. 

Watson thus far has appeared in a total of just 12 regular-season games with Cleveland, but Stefanski and company nevertheless replaced offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey following a successful 2023 campaign because Dorsey has a history of helping dual-threat quarterbacks improve. It's also assumed Stefanski had some role in Cleveland choosing Jameis Winston over fan-favorite Joe Flacco as Watson's backup this week. 

"...It's more than a little interesting that he's suddenly going to be in the Browns' building," Jackson added about Vrabel. "There's probably nothing to see here besides football coaches being football coaches. I just think it's fair to wonder who all pushed this together, and what the dynamics might eventually be."

"Likely" and "probably" are interesting words to use about a situation nobody saw coming as of Friday morning.