Kevin Stefanski of the Browns wins Coach of the Year thanks to a tiebreaker.

Browns Health Care With one more first-place vote than DeMeco Ryans, Kevin Stefanski emerged victorious in the NFL Coach of the Year competition.

If you’ve heard this before, stop me: Kevin Stefanski is the winner of the NFL Coach of the Year award. After four years as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Stefanski won the prized trophy twice through. This time, he succeeded in a tie-breaker against Houston Texans player DeMeco Ryans. Despite having the same score, Stefanski won the prize because he received one more first-place vote.

Stefanski took home the trophy for the first time as a rookie in 2020. Despite Covid having a major impact on the season, he created a new system and guided the Browns to the postseason with an 11-5 record. With an 11-6 record this season, he led his team to the postseason once more, which was even more remarkable considering that he lost a number of key players, including Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson.

By clinching victories with four different starting quarterbacks, Stefanski became the first coach to lead his team into the playoffs. By the end of the season, he actually started five different players behind center.

Cleveland overcame injuries to both starting offensive tackles, their No. 3 tackle, multiple linebackers, safety Grant Delpit, and several other players near the close of the season, in addition to losing their best offensive weapons. The phrase “next man up” was repeatedly put to the test, and Stefanski kept things headed in the correct way.

On Thursday night, Stefanski was the third member of the Browns to win an award. Jim Schwartz, the defensive coordinator, was the first to win NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. Myles Garrett, who stunned T.J. Watt by winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, came after him.