After six mostly miserable seasons in charge of the Cleveland Browns, Kevin Stefanski was relieved of his duties on Monday.
This comes on the heels of a two-year span in which the team went just 8–26 and finished in the basement of the AFC North.
With the firing, the Cleveland Browns’ next head coach odds have quickly taken shape, with early market movement pointing to Klint Kubiak as the leading candidate.
Cleveland Browns next head coach odds
Percentages courtesy of Kalshi.
Kalshi is a regulated financial exchange where you trade on real-world event outcomes. Instead of traditional odds, prices are listed as percentages (0–100%), representing the market’s estimated probability of an event occurring.
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Analyzing the Browns’ next head coach favorites
Klint Kubiak
Klint Kubiak has become a popular name in the coaching market thanks to his offensive background, but the Cleveland Browns' recent history with offense-first hires adds an important layer of context.
Kubiak is respected for his scheme design and play-calling, yet the Browns remain a few pieces away from fielding a consistently high-level offense, particularly when it comes to stability at quarterback and depth at the skill positions.
Even so, early market support suggests Cleveland may be willing to take a longer-term view and trust Kubiak to grow into a first-time head coaching role.
Chris Shula
Chris Shula is a name you are going to hear a lot of this offseason. He's an up-and-coming defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, and he's almost surely in line for a head coaching gig next season.
Similar to Kubiak, the question remains: are the Browns willing to trust Shula and give him enough time to build this team how he sees fit?
The pieces on defense are there, and the market believes the Browns are willing to take yet another shot in the dark.
Jim Schwartz
If the Browns decide to keep things in-house, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is drawing early interest in the prediction markets.
Schwartz brings extensive NFL experience, including a four-year stint as a head coach earlier in his career, but his strongest work has consistently come on the defensive side of the ball.
He has built multiple high-level defenses across different stops, and Cleveland already has the personnel in place for his scheme to translate immediately.
Whether the Browns ultimately look outside the organization or not, Schwartz is firmly on the radar as the offseason unfolds.
Recent Browns coaching history
Stability has been hard to come by in Cleveland since the Browns returned in 1999. Early regimes struggled immediately, with the team opening its modern era at 2–14 and 3–13 under Chris Palmer.
There were brief flashes of hope under Butch Davis, highlighted by a 9–7 playoff season in 2002, and again in 2007, when Romeo Crennel guided the Browns to 10–6. Each time, progress proved short-lived, with losing seasons quickly following.
The carousel spun faster in the 2010s. Eric Mangini and Pat Shurmur combined for a 23–41 record before things hit rock bottom under Hue Jackson, whose tenure included a 1–31 stretch across 2016 and 2017.
That finally appeared to change with Kevin Stefanski, who brought immediate credibility and a playoff win, earning Coach of the Year honors. But injuries, inconsistency, and roster uncertainty have since reopened familiar questions about the Browns’ ceiling and leadership.
Once again, Cleveland finds itself at a crossroads, hoping the next coaching decision can finally deliver the sustained success that has long eluded this franchise.
