Ex-Browns HC Kevin Stefanski Takes A Clear Shot At The Steelers And Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a part of the major shakeup within the AFC North. Three of the head coaches from the 2025 season will not be returning, as the last head coach standing is Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals. Mike Tomlin decided to step down from his job with the Steelers, while both John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski were each fired by their respective organizations. Harbaugh and Stefanski found work quick as Harbaugh was hired by the New York Giants and Stefanski was hired by the Atlanta Falcons. Tomlin has stayed quiet as the next step in his career is unknown.

With Stefanski and Harbaugh both getting head-coaching jobs almost immediately after being fired, they still talk with the media. Both coaches spoke with the press during the NFL's Scouting Combine, and both spoke highly about Tomlin and his decision to step down in Pittsburgh. 

Stefanski also spoke about his time coaching against the Steelers during a recent interview with Pardon My Take. He spoke about having to watch his Browns play Pittsburgh in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs at the end of the 2020 season, and he also spoke about the Week 17 clash when Myles Garrett was closing in on the single-season sack record.

"Unbelievable." Stefanski said of Garrett's single-season sack record. "Incredible. That whole season, and I've tried to make this point, the degree of difficultly in which he is doing that is insane. Because every team goes into those games saying, 'We can't let him wreck the game', and he still does. We saw it in certain games where it was a detriment to the offense because they changed how they played when Myles was out there."

Fans in Pittsburgh obviously were not happy about Garrett breaking the single-season sack record in Week 18. The record had belonged to Michael Strahan and TJ Watt, but Garrett was able to surpass both of them in the final week of the regular season during a game against Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

The last part of Stefanski's quote is what should stand out to Steelers fans. For those who don't remember, the Steelers lost to the Browns in Week 17. Garrett needed just one sack heading into that game to break the record, and Pittsburgh didn't want to allow him to wreck the game or break Watt's record. The Steelers wound up losing by a score of 13-6 in what was the worst offensive performance of the 2025 season for Pittsburgh. 

After the game, the Steelers were scrutinized for playing scared on offense. It was as if the team was playing to contain Garrett and limit his opportunities rather than to win the game. The strategy worked as Garrett had just one tackle on the day, but Pittsburgh's offense was obviously affected by Garrett's mere presence and the idea that he could break the single-season sack record against Pittsburgh. 

There is no denying that the Steelers changed the way they played on the offensive side of the ball for that matchup, but that is what most teams have to do when taking on Cleveland's defense; it is not just Garrett. That side of the ball is loaded with talent for the Browns, and it is hard to get anything going on offense.

Steelers Will Hopefully Have More Creativity On Offense In 2026

Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy as the team's new head coach, and the hiring broke many trends in Pittsburgh. For one thing, the coach is older than Tomlin was. The other is that he is an offensive-minded head coach. This means Pittsburgh is finally focusing a little bit on improving the offensive side of the ball, and it will be interesting to see how McCarthy approaches taking on some of those top-tier defenses throughout the league.

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