Former Vikings coach caught in the middle of a slimey situation

As more lawsuits against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson continue to be filed, former Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin Stefanski finds himself in a less-than-desirable situation.

A little more than two years after he departed the Minnesota Vikings to become the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kevin Stefanski sat on a stage and claimed that he has “confidence in the extensive work that [the team] has put in to understand [Deshaun Watson].”

These comments were made during a press conference back in March when the Browns introduced Watson as their new quarterback. To prove how confident they were in their “extensive work,” Cleveland agreed to give Watson a fully-guaranteed, five-year contract worth $230 million.

At the time of the press conference, the quarterback was facing 22 different civil lawsuits that included allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment. On Monday, a 24th civil lawsuit was filed against Watson that accused him of similar allegations found in the other 23 civil lawsuits he’s facing.

Needless to say, that confidence that Stefanski claimed to have back in March probably isn’t as high after Monday’s news.

Former Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin Stefanski deserves plenty of blame for the mess the Cleveland Browns are currently in

Since leaving the Vikings during the 2020 offseason, Stefanski has led the Browns to wins in 57 percent of their games (including the playoffs). With the desire to achieve even more success next season, Cleveland decided to make a trade for Watson this year.

The Browns and Stefanski knew they were going to get a lot of heat for essentially rewarding someone who has been accused of committing a disturbing amount of unwanted sexual acts.

But they were willing to add someone who could be a serial sexual abuser to their roster if it meant he could help them win a few more football games.

At this point, it doesn’t even matter if Watson is ever found guilty of committing the allegations he is being accused of in the 24 lawsuits, Cleveland and Stefanski have already delivered a giant slap in the face to anyone who has been sexually assaulted in the past or to anyone who ends up as a victim of sexual assault in the future.

The Browns can say whatever they want, but they don’t care about any of the people who might have had their lives ruined by Watson. They are more concerned with how many touchdowns he’s going to throw and packing Cleveland’s home stadium full for each game.

It also doesn’t matter whether Stefanski has any regrets about the Browns’ acquisition of Watson as the quarterback continues to face even more allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The former Vikings offensive coordinator agreed to go along with Cleveland’s plan to trade for the quarterback earlier this year and that is a decision he will have to live with for the remainder of his life.