Sunday night couldn’t have been easy for Kevin Stefanski.  The Cleveland Browns—of whom Stefanski is the head coach—took the field against the hated Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card game looking to win the organization’s first playoff contest since 1994 and
take one step closer to reaching the Super Bowl.  But Stefanski wasn’t on the sidelines in Pittsburgh, drawing up game plans and barking out plays through his headset.  He was sitting in his basement, watching the game on NBC like any other regular Joe.

After testing positive for COVID-19 last week, Stefanski—along with several other Browns’ coaches—was forced to step away from the team and quarantine as per NFL guidelines.  He wasn’t able to conduct practices during his absence, as the Browns facility was shut down, and once Sunday night’s game kicked off, he was prohibited from having any contact with his players or coaching staff.

The Browns won, torching the Steelers 48-37.  But regardless of the outcome, watching that game must have been absolute hell for
Stefanski.

Imagine being a head coach and guiding your team through a trying year like 2020—devoting countless hours in the office to game planning, managing personnel and putting your team in a position to be successful—and then ultimately having to step away right before the biggest game of the season?  It’s enough to drive anyone mad.

I may have never had a job quite as demanding as being an NFL head coach, but strangely, I think I know how Stefanski feels.  Back in 2015, my men’s baseball team had scratched and clawed its way to a playoff berth and were scheduled to play a one-game Wild Card elimination on a Friday night that just so happened to coincide with my cousin’s wedding.  I was heartbroken; I’d spent every weekend
since February getting my team to this spot, trying to replace injured players and keep the team afloat.  But for all the hard work
that I had put in, there was a chance the season would just end without me on the field.

So I did what I could do; put together a lineup during the week with my assistant, hoped for the best, and spent just about every minute of that wedding reception getting batter-by-batter updates on my phone.

I may not have been the most social wedding guest, but I was probably the most stressed.  It was a helpless feeling knowing how little effect I would have on the outcome.

Now imagine how tough I would have been to be around if I had a prominent national position like Stefanski?

Reports indicate that Stefanski will be back this week as his team takes on the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and regardless of how much pressure is on his Cleveland team this week, I’m sure he’ll breathe a deep sigh of relief when he gets back on the sidelines.

At least he’ll be in control, and in times like these, that’s just about all you can ask for.
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