Kevin 'Steven' Stefanski 'grateful' for second Coach of the Year, Browns' awards haul
Steven Stefanski was a big winner at NFL Honors on Thursday night, right along with the Cleveland Browns.
To be clear, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was voted The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year, one of four major awards taken home by Cleveland.
However, actor Justin Hartley mistakenly announced the winner as Steven Stefanski. As it turns out, Kevin wasn’t at the awards show in Las Vegas — nor was Steven, of course.
Nonetheless, Kevin was watching and happy to hear his real-life cousin’s name’s announced.
“I did [see NFL Honors],” Stefanski told 92.3 The Fan. “And you know who had a great night last night was my cousin Steve Stefanski. His phone was blowing up, and in fact when the guy said that, my son grabbed my phone and we called my cousin Steve. And he answers the phone and says ‘I did it.’ He told me hard work pays off, so congratulations to my cousin Steve.”
While the head coach version of Stefanski might have had the most memorable award-winning moment, he wasn’t the only person lauded for the efforts of a 2023 Browns team that returned to the playoffs despite a rash of substantial injuries.
Defensive end Myles Garrett was voted AP Defensive Player of the Year, quarterback Joe Flacco was voted AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz took home top assistant coach honors after his first season with the Browns.
“I wasn’t there in person, but I am obviously very, very, very grateful,” he said. “Myles winning the award is unbelievable, coach Schwartz, Joe winning those things. And for me that thing is such a, really a testament to 1,000 people. You don’t win that award without great players.”
Stefanski’s win came after the tightest of races as he and Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans tied with 165 total points. Stefanski’s won his second coach of the year award on the strength of 21 first-place votes, winning a tiebreaker as Ryans had 20 first-place tallies.
Thus, it was an award Stefanski nearly shared with Ryans and was awarded to his cousin.
Nonetheless, it was a banner Thursday night for the Browns.
