Random Thoughts: tough games, Stefanski

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The first installment of Random Thoughts in 2026 includes congratulations, a tough stretch of games, the dean of WBL football coaches, and Kevin Stefanski.

Belated congrats

Congratulations to Van Wert wrestler Briggs Wallace, who recently earned his 100th career victory. There’s no doubt that 100 wins is a special mark and is extremely diffcult to achieve. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Well done Briggs Wallace.

Tough stretch

There’s no doubt that Lincolnview is the turnaround team of the boys basketball season. The Lancers went 5-17 last season but now sit at 8-2. The two losses have come to 8-3 Ada (64-63 in overtime) and 8-2 Van Wert on Saturday.

How’s this for a tough stretch – Van Wert this past Saturday, 9-2 Spencerville this Friday, at 9-1 Miller City Saturday, then at 5-3 (decieving record) next Friday. All three games should be entertaining.

Retirement

The dean of all WBL football coaches, and area coaches in general, is retiring. Ottawa-Glandorf head coach Ken Schriner made the announcement on Monday. Schriner led the Titans for 30 seasons and compiled a record of 204-132. He leaves as the all-time winningest coach in school history. His teams won five WBL championships, made the playoffs 17 times and advanced to the state semifinals twice.

I don’t know Coach Schriner very well, outside of requests for comments for stories, stats etc. but I’ll say this – he always provided whatever I was looking for very quickly and was always very friendly to me. He leaves some big shoes to fill.

Black Monday

No big surprise here – the Cleveland Browns announced Monday morning that after six seasons, head coach Kevin Stefanski had been fired.

As a Browns fan, this is what I think – he’s a good coach that was in a bad situtation. A meddling owner, questionable front office moves/draft picks and more – no wonder he couldn’t succeed long term. He was named NFL Coach of the Year twice but couldn’t sustain the success because of the aforementioned factors. Honestly, it seemed like he wanted out and I’m guessing he’s not exactly shedding any tears. I doubt very much he wanted anything to do with the DeShaun Watson trade. I don’t think he’ll be unemployed long at all. Someone will snap him up.

If there’s a bigger dumpster fire than the Browns, it’s the Las Vegas Raiders. They fired Pete Carroll on Monday, after just one year on the job and a 2-14 record. It was a curious hire to begin with. Since 2020, this team has had five head coaches. The only bright spot is the Raiders have the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

As always, if you have thoughts on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.