Myles Garrett, Kevin Stefanski, Joe Flacco, Jim Schwartz among finalists for NFL awards
BEREA — The Browns had one of their best seasons in decades. The reward for such a season is multiple finalists for major NFL awards.
The list of NFL awards finalists were released by the Associated Press on Thursday afternoon, and the Browns had finalists for four awards. Defensive end Myles Garrett was one of five for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, as was head coach Kevin Stefanski for NFL Coach of the Year, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for Assistant Coach of the Year and quarterback Joe Flacco for Comeback Player of the Year.
The award winners will be announced at the NFL Honors even on Feb, 8 at 9 p.m. in Las Vegas. The event will be televised by CBS (Channel 19 locally) and NFL Network, and streamed on Paramount+ and NFL+.
Garrett finished the season with 14 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 30 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, a blocked field goal and 42 total tackles (33 solo). He is joined among the finalists group by Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
Stefanski, who won Coach of the Year in his first season in 2020, guided the Browns to their second 11-win season and playoff appearance in his four seasons as head coach. The other finalists for the award are the Detroit Lions' Dan Campbell, Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Shanahan and Houston Texans' DeMeco Ryans.
Schwartz was arguably the Browns biggest offseason pickup a year ago, as he turned the defense in the league's top-ranked unit in categories including total yards, passing yards and third-down efficiency. Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Baltimore's offensive (Todd Monken) and defensive coordinators (Mike Macdonald) and Houston offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik are also finalists.
Flacco went from being signed off his couch by the Browns on Nov. 20 to going 4-1 as a starter in December — with, including the playoffs, five consecutive 300-yard passing games — to help secure the playoff berth. Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin, Tampa Bay (and former Browns) quarterback Baker Mayfield, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are the other finalists.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett, Kevin Stefanski among 4 Browns finalists for NFL awards
