How Did Kevin Stefanski Beat DeMeco Ryan Despite Same No. of Votes for NFL Coach of the Year Award? Rules Explained

This is Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski’s second victory. Although the Browns departed after the wild-card loss to the Texans, the Browns’ head coach won over them. Despite having equal points, he won over the second-place holder, Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryan. But how is it so?

The 2024 NFL Honors listed the names of the 2023 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year on Thursday night. Stefanski, the second coach in franchise history (after Paul Brown) to achieve multiple seasons with 11-plus wins, bagged the first rank for the NFL Coach of the Year Award despite tying with Ryan.

Kevin Stefanski is the winner!

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski won the 2023 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year for the second time at the NFL honors on Thursday night. This is Stefanski’s second award after his 2020 win when the Browns ended their 18-year playoff drought. The voting resulted in a tie with Texans coach DeMeco Ryan, as both secured 165 points in total.

However, Stefanski secured the win “because he had more first-place votes.” Stefanski had 21 first-place votes compared to Ryan’s 20. He received 18 second-place votes and six third-place votes, compared to Ryan’s 21 second-place votes and two third-place votes. Therefore, in such cases, the NFL picks the first-place votes; hence, Stefanski won the competition with a 1-point from Ryan.

Other finalists were ranked as follows: Dan Campbell (33), Kyle Shanahan (26), John Harbaugh (26), Sean McVay (21), and Mike Tomlin (5) in the tally.

Read more: Watch: Kevin Stefanski Delivers Incredible Locker-Room Speech After Browns Clinch a Playoff Berth

Stefanski is the only one of the two Browns coaches to receive this award, with Forrest Gregg being the other in 1976.

What’s next for Kevin Stefanski?

In four seasons with the Browns, Kevin Stefanski has compiled a 37-30 record exceeding Bill Belichick’s 36 victories and securing the fifth position in franchise history for coaching wins. However, Stefanski still trails franchise legend Paul Brown, who boasts 158 wins.

Nevertheless, he can surpass Sam Rutigliano (47) and Marty Schottenheimer (44) in the upcoming 2024 season. Regardless, Stefanski has played a pivotal role in ushering in a new era of Browns football.

He led the team to more playoff appearances than in the previous decades combined, with two playoff berths in three trips since their return to the NFL in 1999.

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