10:45pm: Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer also writes Haslam has likely yet to make a firm decision on Stefanski. He adds, however, that a parting of ways in this case could appeal to all involved. As the season winds down, the Browns will be worth watching closely with major changes receiving consideration.
8:59am: Kevin Stefanski is a two-time Coach of the Year, but past accomplishments may not earn him a seventh season in Cleveland in 2026. With the current campaign nearing an end, the Browns have not made a decision on Stefanski’s future, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The Browns sandwiched two sub-.500 seasons between a pair of 11-win efforts during Stefanski’s first four years at the helm. Since a late-season Joe Flacco revival helped them to a playoff berth in 2023, the Stefanski-coached Browns have gone a horrid 6-26. They’ll need to win one of their last two games to avoid a second straight 3-14 season.
Stefanski lost an in-house advocate when chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta switched sports to take over as the Colorado Rockies’ president of baseball operations in early November. DePodesta “influenced” the Browns’ decision to hire Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, Rapoport and Pelissero note. The futures of Stefanski and Berry have come into question since DePodesta’s departure.
The Browns’ inability to find a post-Baker Mayfield answer at quarterback has been a hindrance for the offensive-minded Stefanski. After Mayfield failed to carry a strong 2020 performance into the next season, Cleveland traded him to Carolina in July 2022. Mayfield’s exit came a few months after the Browns’ ill-fated Deshaun Watson trade and contract extension, two moves that have set the franchise back years.
The Browns surrendered a package that included three first-round picks for Watson, who was under fire as sexual misconduct allegations against him piled up, and then gave him a guaranteed $230MM. Watson, a healthy inactive his entire last season in Houston, served an 11-game suspension to begin his Browns tenure. Injuries, including two Achilles ruptures since last October, have limited him to 19 starts in a disastrous Cleveland stint. The Browns have gone 9-10 with Watson, who won’t play this season as a result of his latest injury.
With Watson largely unavailable, the Browns have cycled through several different starters during the Stefanski era. They’ve used three – Flacco (now a Bengal), third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel, and fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders – this year.
Gabriel, who took over for Flacco in Week 6, was unimpressive before suffering a concussion in Week 11. Sanders grabbed the reins after that, and he has shown enough to finish the season as the starter.
It’s unclear if Sanders will remain the team’s No. 1 option in 2026, especially with Watson likely to return. Regardless, the current coaching staff’s handling of Sanders over the next few weeks will factor into owner Jimmy Haslam‘s evaluation, per Rapoport and Pelissero.
If Haslam doesn’t believe Stefanski is the right fit to groom a young QB, whether it’s Gabriel, Sanders, or a potential high pick next April, the Browns may go in another direction. In the event that happens, it doesn’t appear Haslam would choose North Carolina coach Bill Belichick to succeed Stefanski.
The possibility of Belichick returning to his old stomping grounds in Cleveland came up last week, but the Browns have no interest in the 73-year-old, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Before winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots, Belichick began his head coaching career with the Browns. Belichick led an Art Modell-owned Cleveland team from 1991-95, its last five years there before it relocated to Baltimore. The second iteration of the Browns began play in 1999. Almost three decades later, a Cleveland-Belichick reunion isn’t under consideration.
I think they need to let the coach and GM go.
Andrew Berry is a solid GM….I think he stays and Kevin Stefanski goes…..
One might argue that a GM who drafts 2 QBs and 2 RBs, in the same draft, within his first 5 picks, is factually NOT a solid GM
Well when you have NO QB’S and only one RB….gotta fill holes somehow and rookies are the cheapest player you could aquire….the Watson contact has his hands tied …..
Yet completely ignored the offensive line. Those QB’s and RB’s are meaningless if there is no one to block for them.
Who, pray tell signed Watson to the contract that has his hands tied?
Haslam
Thats odd, because haslem credits Berry with the idea to fully guarantee the contract
And I doubt that belichick would have any interest either
The only people who want Belichick back in the NFL are the starf#&kers in the National Sportsball Media.
And myself … he will make any team better. Cleveland awards losing. I hope the Titans get him.
“he will make any team better”
I truly hope this is sarcasm lol
Only if he brings Tom Brady with him
I think even Belichick would end up getting fired by Tennessee in 2-3 years. That team would fire God when even an act of God doesn’t fix things.
Belichick on Titans would make Nashville a college football town forever, whether Vanderbilt is good or not.
If the Browns were the only job offered to him, Belichick would jump all over it.
Who wants that job? Factory of Sadness lives on.
I’ll take it as long as the salary is good.
Stefanski’s lack of success on the field in 2024 and 2025 is directly related to the injuries and poor performance of the offensive line. For all the praise Andrew Berry receives regarding this year’s draft class, he drafted exactly ZERO offensive lineman to address this situation now and in the future, while drafting two running backs and two quarterbacks. A head coach can only succeed so much when not given adequate personnel to operate with.
Also his most successful seasons as HC came with good QB play (Mayfield. Flacco).
If they cut him loose, he would do well as an OC with a team with a defensive-minded HC and stable QB.
He’d get another HC job before this site posted the article on him getting fired.
He drafted Dawand Jones, Zak Zinter, Wypler. He just didn’t draft well. I’m no fan of Berry but keep in mind, he didn’t have any 1st round pics for awhile and the starting line is not that old. They are just injury prone. Teller and Conklin are both 31. Pocic is younger. Jones is 24. Bitonio is older
Why didnt he have any 1st rounders? Could it be because he traded them for Deshaun Watson and then gave him a fully guaranteed contract which has been an albatross since day 1?
Why in the hell are people making excuses for Berry and acting as though hes done such an amazing job while laying blame on Stefanski? Clevelands hell is of Berrys’ own making and Stefanski has paid the price for it.
My response was to the guy who said Berry drafted zero OL. That’s a lie. I think Berry and Stefanski should be replaced. As for the Watson trade, the Broncos gave up more for Wilson and they made the playoffs last season and have the best record in the league this season. You can’t keep blaming a bad trade. I’m not sure Stefanski doesn’t get a little blame for Watson. Stefanski has not made one quarterback better
“Im no fan of Berry, but keep in mind he didnt have any 1st round pics for awhile”
Keep in mind, he is literally the reason he didnt have 1st round picks for while. Broncos gave up 2 first rounders, hence why they had a 1st rounder to pick Bo Nix and reset the franchise, whereas the browns didnt have a 1st rounder until this year because they gave up 3. Also, the Broncos were able to get out of Wilsons contract because it wasnt fully guaranteed, the Browns cant say as much. Again, who made the trade and who signed the contract?
The Browns kept restructuring Watson’s contract and pushing the money down the road. You forgot that Denver also gave up 2 second round picks and 3 players. Noah Fant, Shelby Harris and Drew Lock.
Stefanski would have teams calling him the day he gets fired.
Possibly to the Giants
Would they trust him to develop Dart? He’s literally not made one quarterback better
Stefanski is oddly good at elevating mediocre quarterbacks. He had Brissett looking like a solid starter for about three months in 2022, and even the fact that he’s doing well in Arizona this year is interesting since their OC Drew Petzing worked under Stefanski before going there.
He got good stretches of play out of Flacco coming off his couch and Jameis. Even won a few games with PJ Walker.
Quit giving Walker credit. That was the record setting #1 defense. As for Flacco, this year Flacco stunk and went to Cincinnati and lit it up. Watson was a top QB until Stefanski. Mayfield is so much better away from Stefanski
Mayfield was so good in Carolina they had him playing scout team DL
5 games? Look at his last 3 years. Stefanski doesn’t develop quarterbacks.
That worked out so well last time they hired a failed Cleveland HC who people swore it ws the franchise’s fault.
Id love Stefanski in Atlanta to replace Zac Robinson as OC.
Zero chance of Stefanski taking an OC job. He’d get another head coaching job immediately.
Then Id take him in Atlanta over Raheem Morris.
No way he gets a head coaching job. Mike McCarthy didn’t and McCarthy has been a lot more successful. Stefanski will be 6-30 in his last 36 games after the Browns lose the next 2. And he has a pretty good defense. If you think that’s good, you’d make a horrible GM
Browns and Bengals swap owners, GMs and coaching staffs…problem solved 🙂
I think he might be safe but idk anymore. These organizations are stuck in deep almost curse like ruts and need plenty of changes. To name a few: falcons raiders browns cardinals jets bengals giants dolphins titans
I’d fire myself if they made me wear that silly hat.
I have no problem with HCs wearing hats but I have little respect for the coaches that hide behind those sideline sheets that look like they were drawn by a child with crayons. I guess these coaches want everyone to think their geniuses. You would never see Lombardi or Landry embarrass themselves like that.
This feels like typical Mary Kay Cabot clickbait. Honestly, the Browns might have the most caustic media coverage of any team.
Better make that move if they want to actually start building something, and before anyone brings up those COTY awards, Jason Garrett won it too. None of his teams do anything well.
Brian Daboll also won “Coach of the Year” for getting his ass kicked by the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. That accomplishment turned COTY into a Milli Vanilli award.
The Browns’ inability to field a competent let alone dominant offensive line or draft a legit starting WR or QB post Baker is by far the reason why a team with such a dominant defense has routinely been so terrible.
Stefanski doesn’t deserve to get fired, but I can’t help but wonder if he *wants* to be let go. The dude has gotta be exhausted by that franchise.
As a Browns fan, I agree. He would instantly become the best coach on the market if he gets fired, but he seems pretty much checked out this season. (Not that I can blame him though.)
I definitely can’t say with confidence that the Browns would be better without Stefanski, but I’m starting to think that this has run its course and everyone would probably benefit from a change.
will it really matter who they hire ? franchise has been stuck in quicksand it’s entire existence
Only the reincarnated Browns that have been around since 1999.
That’s true, they went to 10 straight championships when they first started in 1946, and won 7 of them. They won another with Jim Brown in 1962. Otto Graham was their QB at the very beginning, he actually has as many championship wins as Brady. I had him ranked first among 4th overall picks in my NFL draft blog.
This offseason will be interesting with many contracts coming up. So the question is whether you allow Berry to start the rebuild with Stefanski leading the charge, and in a year or two when it goes to crap, again, do you start another rebuild? Start fresh, do it once and move on!