The Falcons' head coach led his former team to its first playoff run in 18 years.
Terrin Waack
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. When Kevin Stefanski agreed to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2020, he accepted the task of turning around a program that hadn't seen a winning record in the last 12 seasons. The franchise had not made the playoffs in the last 17 seasons.
Stefanski immediately erased both of those droughts. In his first season, the Browns finished 11-5 and reached the divisional round.
Fast forward to present day, Stefanski faces similar but less drastic circumstances as the Atlanta Falcons' new head coach.
The Falcons last winning record and playoff appearance came in 2017, when they went 10-6 and made the divisional round. So, it has been eight seasons since Atlanta experienced either feat.
Stefanski knows from experience the keys behind a quick turnaround.
"To succeed in this league, you succeed with people, and you have to have the right people," Stefanski said. "That's about putting the coaching staff together. That's about putting this roster together. And the guys in that locker room? Making sure everybody knows exactly how you're going to play football.
"I think that's something you'll hear from me and from our players: We're going to know who we are. We're going to know the identity from which we play. I think making that clear on the front end gives you a chance to have success in the fall."
Stefanski has already begun building his staff. Jeff Ulbrich is the defensive coordinator, Tommy Rees is his offensive counterpart and Craig Aukerman is with special teams. Six assistant coaches have been retained from last season. Four new staff members, including two position coaches, have been brought in.
As for the roster, Stefanski is keeping any personnel thoughts close to his chest. Those discussions and evaluations are on hold until the Falcons hire a general manager.
He has, however, reached out to players who are contracted through 2026, such as running back Bijan Robinson.
"Good football teams care about each other, and I want to just get to know our players," Stefanski said. "In my position, when you're asking players to do some of the things we're asking them to do, they have to trust you and they have to know that you have their best interest in mind. So, that's just part of getting to know out players starting a relationship with them."
And fostering it. That's the only way to know whether Stefanski has, as he put it, the right people in Atlanta. He vetted his coaches before hiring them. He's now getting to know his players before deciding how to get the best out of them.
Relationships matter. Existing ones are the primary reason Stefanski landed in Atlanta. Ryan, as the president of football who led the head coach search, admitted as much.
"I would say more important than anything was the reference work that we did," Ryan said. "As impressive as Kevin is, and as much as I enjoyed the conversations that we had, the reference work not only by myself but the entire research committee of going through and talking to former players, talking to former coaches, talking to different people around the league that knew Kevin from different spots along the way, it all started to line up. I really think that was the biggest thing."
Stefanski was named The Associated Press' Coach of the Year in 2020. That accolade can be chalked up to the fact he impressively flipped the script in Cleveland within a season.
He won the award again in 2023, though, after the Browns went 11-6 and made the wild card. A second-time honor speaks more so to who Stefanski is.
Now, the Falcons have Stefanski in Atlanta with hope that he can right their ship.
He thinks it's possible.
"I'm here because I believe in this group," Stefanski said. "I believe in this roster."
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