Browns Fire HC Kevin Stefanski
The Browns are among the teams which will be seeking a new head coach over the coming weeks. Kevin Stefanski‘s tenure in Cleveland is coming to an end. 
Stefanski has been fired, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Signs were pointing in this direction leading up to the end of the regular season yesterday. General manager Andrew Berry is safe, and Schefter notes he will lead the search for a replacement head coach.
[RELATED: Jim Schwartz Likely To Be Replacement Candidate]
Over the course of a lengthy tenure in Minnesota, Stefanski generated a strong reputation as one of the league’s top offensive minds. His 2020 hire marked the first head coaching opportunity at the college or NFL levels of his career. The 43-year-old went on to win the Coach of the Year award twice during his tenure in Cleveland. That span also included a record of just 7-26 over the past two years, however.
The struggles endured since the beginning of the 2024 season are identified in a team statement as part of the reason why the Browns have elected to move on in this case. After reaching the playoffs in 2023 – Cleveland’s second 11-win season under Stefanski – things have not gone according to plan, and quarterback uncertainty persists at this point. Finding a long-term answer under center will be a priority along with the search for a new head coach.
Stefanski, meanwhile, will contemplate his next move. A strong market could exist in his case based on his track record under stable QB situations and the lack of high-profile offensive coaches in the 2026 pool of candidates. Stefanski has been mentioned on multiple occasions as a logical fit with the Giants. As other vacancies open up around the league, it will be interesting to see how Stefanski fits into the overall coaching landscape this winter.
Cleveland will have stability at the GM spot moving forward with Berry remaining in place. Strong showings from multiple members of the Browns’ rookie class no doubt helped his job security. Nevertheless, today’s news comes after Paul DePodesta departed the organization to join Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies. Berry will be tasked with overseeing a notably different setup for the franchise once the second HC of his tenure is in place.
A report from last week tied the Browns to interest in Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins have yet to make a final decision on their head coach, although he is currently believed to be safe. In the event that changes, though, connections between Cleveland and McDaniel will be worth watching for.
The Giants and Titans made in-season HC firings. In the immediate aftermath of Week 18, the Falcons moved on from Raheem Morris as well general manager Terry Fontenot. With Stefanski now out, there are four head coaching vacancies and counting across the NFL.
Browns Notes: Schwartz, Stefanski, QB Situation
The Browns’ first decision of the offseason was to fire head coach Kevin Stefanski. The next step will be finding his replacement.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is an internal candidate, according to Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal, which is no surprise given his success over the last three years. Owner Jimmy Haslam refused to confirm that Schwartz is a candidate on Monday (via Tony Grossi of The Land on Demand), but admitted he wanted to retain his veteran DC.
The Browns defense has consistently been the team’s stronger side of the ball since Schwartz came aboard in 2023. They ranked first in total defense in his debut season and fourth in 2025; between was a down year that was impacted by a turnover-prone offense. Schwartz’s defenses have never ranked higher than 13th in points allowed, though that can again be partially attributed to the offense consistently losing the field position battle. But his familiarity with the current roster – which is primarily built on defensive cornerstones – is a major factor in his favor.
The Browns’ quarterback situation is, as always, a key part of their long-term planning that goes hand-in-hand with their decision on a new head coach. Despite some potential flashed by Shedeur Sanders this season, Cleveland still seems to be intent on nabbing a top quarterback prospects in one of the next two drafts. That would normally lean a team towards hiring an offensive coordinator for the top job. However, this hiring cycle is considered a weak one for potential offensive-minded head coaches who could groom a young QB.
Cleveland may therefore be better served by promoting Schwartz and adding an up-and-coming offensive assistants to work with the next quarterback. However, Haslam also indicated that he is ultimately open to a head coach with a background on either side of the ball. Their last four hires were offensive-minded coaches, but their lack of success in that stretch could inspire them to break the pattern.
Here is the latest out of Cleveland:
- Even if they hire a defensive head coach, the Browns will be focusing on improving their offense this offseason. General manager Andrew Berry promised “significant investment” in the unit, per Grossi, with a first-round quarterback no doubt on the table. Cleveland may also need to replace multiple offensive linemen this offseason and could stand to improve their wide receiver corps.
- Deshaun Watson is expected to be on the roster in 2026, Berry said on Monday (via Grossi). He is still completing his rehab from dual Achilles tears suffered last season. This follows a report indicating the same, with Watson’s onerous contract requiring an untenable dead money number to shed.
- The Browns will still wait on any potential quarterback moves until they hire a new coach. From there, though, his first priority will likely be figuring out the team’s 2026 starter.
- Stefanski has no intention of taking time away from football and has immediately thrown his hat in the ring for other head-coaching opportunities, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. He is already expected to interview with the Giants, Titans, and Falcons. He will not, however, take a lesser job with the Buccaneers and reunite with Baker Mayfield, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman.
- Longtime Browns guard Wyatt Teller is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career. The eight-year veteran does not know if his agent has discussed a new deal with the team, according to Easterling. If Cleveland is pursuing another rebuild, they may opt to move on from the 31-year-old lineman in favor of younger players.
- Though rookie tight end Harold Fannin emerged as an impact pass-catching this season, the Browns are still interested in retaining pending free agent David Njoku. He wants to stay in Cleveland, too, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, but coaching staff changes could change the calculus for either side.
Browns ‘Expected’ To Move On From HC Kevin Stefanski
11:00pm: The growing sentiment around the league is that the Browns moving on from Stefanski is now “expected” to happen, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. NFL insider Jordan Schultz adds that “the league-wide expectation” is that changes are likely in Cleveland, and the “hottest seat” in the building appears to be Stefanski’s. As mentioned below, Schultz claims the unlikely trade route may be attempted here, but if the Browns can’t make that happen, he’s expected to be let go.
1:01pm: Kevin Stefanski is a game away from wrapping up his sixth season in Cleveland. It appears Sunday’s meeting with the Bengals will be Stefanski’s last with the Browns. The team is “leaning toward” making a coaching change, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com passes along similar information.
Meanwhile, backing up a previous report, Russini, Cabot and Albert Breer of SI.com all expect general manager Andrew Berry to keep his job. The Browns have discussed shifting Berry to a president of football operations-type position, per Breer, but that’s unlikely to happen. Regardless, Berry’s “heavily involved” in deciding Stefanski’s fate, Cabot writes.
If Stefanski is indeed on the way out, it’s unclear whether the Browns plan to simply fire him or attempt to pull off a rare trade involving a head coach. Although odds are against it, there’s “smoke” behind a potential trade, an industry source told Conor Orr of SI.com.
[RELATED: Myles Garrett Not Interested In Rebuild]
Considering Stefanski is a two-time Coach of the Year, someone may be willing to surrender draft compensation for him. At his best, the 43-year-old has guided the Browns to 11 wins and the postseason in two different campaigns (2020 and ’23). However, success has been elusive otherwise.
Unable to find a long-term answer at quarterback, the Browns have gone just 44-56 under Stefanski. They’re a woeful 7-26 since 2024, including 4-12 this year, which could spell doom for their current head coach.
If there’s hope for Stefanski to stay on, it’s that owners Jimmy Haslam and Dee Haslam are fans, Breer notes. The Haslams also like Stefanski’s working relationship with Berry. If the team cuts the cord on Stefanski, though, it would put Berry in position to make his first head coaching hire. Flashing back to January 2020, the Haslams brought in Stefanski two weeks before Berry left Philadelphia’s front office to become Cleveland’s GM. Berry, previously a Browns executive from 2016-18, is in his second stint with the franchise.
Berry and the Browns have already gathered information on potential replacements for Stefanski, per Russini. Ultimately, they could promote from within and hand the job to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. He’d “undoubtedly” emerge as a candidate, according to Cabot.
Schwartz finished an ugly 29-51 as Detroit’s head coach from 2009-13, but he has long been one of the game’s best defensive assistants. The 59-year-old is currently at the helm of the league’s second-ranked defense. The face of the franchise, defensive end Myles Garrett, made it clear on Friday that he wants to win and not rebuild. Garrett also made his affinity for Schwartz known.
“Would I like to play under Jim? Would I like to keep the team and for us to improve? Absolutely,” Garrett said.
A solid relationship with Garrett doesn’t mean the Browns will promote Schwartz, but it should help the coach’s chances of taking over for Stefanski. That’s assuming the Browns wave goodbye to Stefanski, which could happen as early as Sunday.
Browns GM Andrew Berry Likely To Stay; Mike McDaniel On Team’s Radar?
As smoke about the Browns moving on from Kevin Stefanski has emerged, Andrew Berry continues to skate by without many indications his job is in jeopardy. As the Browns wrap another disappointing season, they do not appear ready to fire their GM.
Despite the Browns being 7-26 over the past two seasons and still on the hook for the Deshaun Watson contractual catastrophe, Berry remains the point man. He is on track to be retained for a seventh year, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano write. The veteran GM has operated like someone who believes he is coming back, per Fowler, with Graziano adding he has received “no indication” a Cleveland GM change is coming.
A November report indicated a chance at a housecleaning exists, but were the Berry-Stefanski duo to be split, the GM would be more likely to stay. Meddling from ownership also has been rumored during Berry’s tenure. That is certainly not out of character for how Jimmy Haslam operated in the early years of his tenure, though the oft-criticized owner has refrained from impulse firings this decade — after a slew of quick-trigger decisions in the 2010s. Berry and Stefanski have been in place since 2020; both received extensions before the 2024 season.
It can be argued Berry is more at fault for where the Browns are than Stefanski. After all, the sixth-year HC is a two-time Coach of the Year who has made his offense work with a few quarterbacks. Watson was not one of those, and the five-year, $230MM contract has defined this regime’s run. In 2022, Haslam said Berry hatched the scheme to fully guarantee Watson’s contract. The owner has not retracted this, but he did admit an organizational mistake on Watson this offseason. Berry also said Browns brass was aligned on Watson when discussing the controversial trade last year.
The QB was believed to be headed to Atlanta before the Browns reentered the race with their outlier guarantee. Berry remaining employed nearly four years after the team authorized the worst contract in NFL history on his watch does point to Haslam being hands-on for that move. Watson’s contract has veered into the MLB/NBA sunk-cost stratum, with the dead money — thanks in large part to many Berry-authorized restructures — so massive it appears the Browns will be forced to retain him in 2026 as well.
The Browns look to have also identified some pieces in this draft, having seen Carson Schwesinger, Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin enjoy quality rookie seasons. That lot of Day 2 draftees came after the team moved out of the Travis Hunter slot, adding additional first- and second-round capital to do so, to select defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5. Pro Football Focus has Graham 34th among over 100 interior D-line regulars this season. This has not translated to wins, but ownership may believe Berry can guide the Browns out of the mess they have created.
This is Berry’s second stint in Cleveland. He was in place during the ill-fated Sashi Brown– and Paul DePodesta-directed rebuild from 2016-17. The Browns brought him back (from the Eagles) after firing John Dorsey following the 2019 season (DePodesta is now back in baseball, joining the Colorado Rockies). Two of the team’s three playoff berths since its 1999 relaunch have come on Berry and Stefanski’s watch, which will make for an interesting decision after this season wraps at either 5-12 or 4-13.
Stefanski has been linked to the Giants in a possible trade, and Fowler notes some around the league wonder if the ex-Vikings OC being the would be the strongest retread candidate were the Browns to fire him. The retread crop includes Robert Saleh, Vance Joseph and Mike McCarthy. Mike McDaniel could also qualify if the Dolphins move on, which may be close to a 50-50 proposition at this point. If the Browns fire Stefanski, Fowler also points to the team having interest in McDaniel were he to be let go.
That would be a fascinating switch. Most teams go in different directions after firing a coach, but a Stefanski-for-McDaniel swap would be firing an offensive coach on the younger side and then hiring a similar option (Stefanski is 43, McDaniel 42).
Any thought of this switch would seemingly be aimed at McDaniel maximizing Cleveland’s offense in a way Stefanski has been unable to over the past two seasons. McDaniel is far from certain to be out in Miami, but with the AFC East club set to hire a new GM, his standing is murky ahead of Week 18. It appears both Stefanski and McDaniel would garner immediate HC interest — on a market without many surefire offense-based candidates — if fired.
Browns’ Andrew Berry, Kevin Stefanski On Hot Seat?
The Browns are destined for their second-straight losing season, and it seems like Browns owner Jimmy Haslam may finally be willing to make some leadership changes. Mike Jones of The Athletic wrote about the situation this past weekend, noting that the Browns will consider multiple paths as they look to revive the organization.
[RELATED: Colorado Rockies Hire Browns’ Paul DePodesta]
According to Jones, some believe Haslam is ready to “clean house.” There are other league insiders who believe GM Andrew Berry may be safe while head coach Kevin Stefanski will be the lone scapegoat for another lost season. The duo was added ahead of the 2020 campaign and immediately guided the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The team hovered around .500 over the next two years before another playoff appearance in 2023. However, the team has bottomed out over the past year-plus, compiling a 6-22 record.
The head coach’s hot seat isn’t overly surprising. While Stefanski has earned a pair of Coach of the Year awards since joining Cleveland, he still has a losing record in five-plus seasons with the organization. While the team’s revolving door at QB hasn’t helped the coach’s cause, the offensive-minded Stefanski has also struggled recently to get that unit on track, leading to him handing over offensive play-calling duties in each of the past two seasons.
Berry’s situation is a bit more unique. As Jones writes, there’s a belief that the general manager may have had more recent success if not for the “meddlesome ways of ownership.” This obviously includes the Deshaun Watson acquisition and the subsequent commitment of $230MM in guaranteed money. Perhaps Haslam will be willing to give his top executive an opportunity to clean up the mess, although that may also require the owner to acknowledge that he played a key role in the team’s recent demise.
The front office is already seeing a bit of a transition, as longtime Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta returned to Major League Baseball as the Colorado Rockies head of baseball operations. Albert Breer of SI.com recently wrote that DePodesta’s Cleveland role was always “mysterious,” although he did work extensively with Berry. Breer adds that the Browns organization isn’t expected to replace DePodesta.
QB Draft Notes: Browns, Dart, Milroe
We know that the Browns have been exploring the quarterback options in the 2025 NFL Draft, conducting a private workout with Miami’s Cam Ward following the Hurricanes’ pro day in Coral Gables. The holders of the No. 2 overall pick in the draft know, though, that Ward may not be available to them.
According to Tony Grossi of TheLandOnDemand.com, the Browns’ road trip didn’t end there. Grossi informs us that Cleveland’s general manager, Andrew Berry, and head coach, Kevin Stefanski, conducted private workouts with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and Alabama passer Jalen Milroe this week, as well. He adds that the two will finish their quarterback workouts when the travel to Boulder for Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders pro day next Friday.
While Ward and Sanders seem like the only two possible choices for Cleveland with the second overall pick, the team’s interest in Dart and Milroe provide the potential that they could go for another position, taking Penn State’s Abdul Carter or Colorado’s Travis Hunter, at No. 2 and go for a quarterback in a later round. Dart has lately been cast as a potential first-rounder, but it’s perfectly reasonable to think that he might be available to Cleveland at the top of the second. Milroe, on the other hand, has been seen, at times, as a likely Day 3 pick, further expanding the Browns’ options for a rookie passer.
Here are a few other rumors concerning quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft:
- We’ve seen the Saints spend lots of time at dinner in the past week as they continue to meet with draft prospects. Per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, their latest dinner date was Dart, who met with the team tonight. The team previously held interest in Texas’ Quinn Ewers, hosting him and several of his teammates earlier this week. Dart getting picked at No. 9 overall by the Saints seems like an unlikely projection at the current moment, but Dart or Ewers on Day 2 could both be potential scenarios.
- Dart isn’t the only quarterback New Orleans saw today. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the team held a private workout today for Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord. While McCord hasn’t received a ton a press so far in the pre-draft process, he deserves some respect after leading the NCAA in passing yards and passing yards per game last year, being the only one in the country to out-pass Ward and even beating him in a head-to-head matchup. McCord could join Dart and Ewers as potential Day 2 or 3 options for the Saints.
- Lastly, Milroe has been getting more and more interest lately as rumors begin to swarm grouping him with Ward, Sanders, and Dart as a potential first-rounder. Colin Cowherd of FOX Sports said on The Herd today that “the Steelers really like Jalen Milroe” and may even consider drafting him at No. 21 overall. Cowherd believes that most teams sitting in the draft picks from Nos. 20-32 want to trade back out of the first round due to a lack of elite talent. Unfortunately, for that same reason, there likely won’t be many takers, and those teams will be forced to make a pick, even if overvalued. That pick for the Steelers could be Milroe as they only roster Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson at the moment and they continue to wait on Aaron Rodgers. Even if Rodgers signs, they would view Rodgers as a stopgap option, with Milroe as the future. As they examine the landscape of quarterbacks available, they believe Milroe is far more athletic than any other options and want to do something special at the quarterback position.
Top Two Teams In Draft Split On Colorado’s Travis Hunter
While the quarterbacks have garnered plenty of attention at the projected top of the 2025 NFL Draft, many recent prospect rankings have Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter as the No. 1 overall prospect, usually joined at the top by two-way Colorado athlete Travis Hunter. If Hunter does end up contending for one of the top two picks in the draft, it could mean two drastically different possibilities for his future in the NFL. 
Hunter was a unicorn at the collegiate level of football. While we’ve seen players in the past like Charles Woodson, Champ Bailey, and Chris Gamble play through college on both sides of the ball full-time, Hunter did so while being a top-four player on his team in snaps played on both offense and defense and while grading out on Pro Football Focus (subscription required) as the best defensive player for the Buffaloes and the second-best offensive player. In the entire nation, Hunter’s 86.3 offensive grade slotted him as the seventh-best receiver in the FBS, while his defensive grade of 88.2 slotted him as the seventh-best cornerback in the country, as well.
His elite, dual-threat athleticism helped Hunter to become the first non-quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy since 2020 (DeVonta Smith) and the first player who played significant snaps on defense to win the award since 1997 (Woodson). In addition, he became the first player in college football history to win both the Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation’s best defensive player and the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s best wide receiver.
The NFL will be a different story for Hunter, though. In Boulder, coaches knew that, because of the heightened load of playing on both offense and defense on Saturdays, Hunter would need a lightened load in practice during the week. It was also impossible for Hunter to attend both offensive and defensive meetings (as well as broken-down meetings with individual position groups) simultaneously, so he had to budget his time between meetings. Due to the giant learning curve that often accompanies rookies making the jump from college to professional football, that likely won’t fly in the NFL.
So far, the reports we’ve seen coming out of scouting circles have favored Hunter as a cornerback in the NFL who can play in certain packages on offense. This would follow in the footsteps of Woodson, Bailey, and Gamble, who all became defensive backs as pros. Despite the majority seeing this as the probable outcome, there have certainly been a number of teams who are reported to view him as a wide receiver first. It just so happens that one of those teams has the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. Per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, Titans head coach Brian Callahan and general manager Mike Borgonzi view Hunter primarily as a cornerback, while Andrew Berry, general manager in Cleveland, says Hunter is “a unicorn” that they view primarily as a wide receiver.
That means that, if both teams decide to pass up on quarterbacks and Hunter pushes Carter for the honor of top prospect, Hunter’s NFL future could be decided on if he’s selected No. 1 by the Titans as a corner or No. 2 by the Browns as a receiver. After Tennessee spent a third-round pick and a four-year, $76.4MM extension to watch L’Jarius Sneed be one of the worst cornerbacks in football last year, per PFF, the Titans could use a boost in the secondary. Hunter would also be a solid addition to their wide receiving corps, but with Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, he’s not necessarily needed for every possession.
In Cleveland, while Denzel Ward continues to play at a high level, the Browns could certainly use improved performances around him from young guys like Martin Emerson, Greg Newsome, and Cameron Mitchell. On offense, though, Hunter would immediately step in as WR2 behind Jerry Jeudy. With Elijah Moore entering free agency, the Browns next two returning receivers would be Cedric Tillman (339 yards, three touchdowns) and Michael Woods (65 yards, no touchdowns).
On both teams, it’s clear Hunter could provide a massive improvement to either side of the ball, and perhaps on both sides of the ball, if either team is willing to work him there. The difference between Tennessee’s and Berry’s assessments seems to do less with roster needs and more with personal analysis. While the quarterbacks are sure to keep things interesting atop the first few picks of the draft, if Carter and Hunter end up trending around Nos. 1 and 2, it will be interesting to see exactly how the chips fall and what it will mean for Hunter’s professional career.
AFC North Notes: Garrett, Bengals, Ravens
Myles Garrett made it clear before the end of the regular season that he has no intention of playing through another rebuild in Cleveland. Crucially, Garrett has asked the Browns for a concrete plan at quarterback after their disastrous 2022 trade for Deshaun Watson crippled the offense for much of the last three seasons. On the latest episode of Hard Knocks: In Season With the AFC North, Garrett revealed that he has discussed the Browns’ future with general manager Andrew Berry, who agreed that changes need to be made. The conversation appears to have warmed Garrett to the team’s direction.
“How are we gonna make the most of all the talent that is here?,” Garrett said. “We’re closer than some may think we are.”
Garrett has somewhat of a point. The Browns’ 3-14 record doesn’t reflect the talent of their roster, but it does represent their rudderless quarterback situation. In 2025, defenders like Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome will be back from injuries, while offensive playmakers like Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku can build on solid 2024 seasons.
Watson, meanwhile, re-tore his Achilles and could miss the entire season. The only Browns quarterback under contract in 2025 is former fifth-rounder Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who is 1-4 as a starter with a career passer rating of 45.2 and completion rate of 52.6%. Bailey Zappe will be easy to retain as a restricted free agent, but he is a marginal upgrade on Thompson-Robinson at best.
The Browns will have to convince Garrett (signed through the 2026 season at $25MM per year) that they have a plan under center moving forward. Otherwise, he could demand a trade to facilitate his way out of Cleveland. Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Browns are facing a pivotal offseason for another longtime player: running back Nick Chubb. Berry made it clear that the team values Chubb and his contributions to the Browns over the seven years, but admitted that his pending free agency was a “challenging situation,” per Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. Last offseason, when Chubb was under contract and recovering from his season-ending knee injury, the Browns got him to take a pay cut. Chubb is once again rehabbing an injury – this time a broken foot – but it shouldn’t cost him any of the 2025 season. That will give him more leverage in free agency negotiations, whether that be with the Browns or another team. Though, Chubb’s back-to-back injury-marred seasons will not help the former perennial Pro Bowler.
- Two of Cleveland’s young defenders are facing uphill battles to be ready by training camp. Berry is expecting a “months-long” recovery for Michael Hall after his right knee injury, which could involve surgery, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. The status of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah remains unclear, but Berry “hopes” he can play in 2025, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic.
- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is continuing to push his team to re-sign Tee Higgins. “You just can’t let him outside of the building,” he said, per ESPN’s Ben Baby. Burrow has repeatedly told the media that he wants Higgins to stay in Cincinnati, sending a clear message to team decision-makers in the process.
- While the Bengals would have to pony up significant money for Higgins – potentially in the region of $30MM per year – they won’t have to pay at the top of the market to retain offensive lineman Cody Ford. His multi-positional versatility is appreciated by the Bengals’ coaching staff, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., but he’s unlikely to command the salary of a starting offensive lineman.
- Despite a career-high nine sacks in 2023 after signing with the Ravens off the street in September, no other team expressed interest in Kyle Van Noy during the 2024 offseason, per Dan Pompei of The Athletic. He re-signed with the Ravens on a two-year, $9MM deal and played through a fractured orbital socket to rank fourth in the NFL with 12.5 sacks. Doctors recommended surgery after the Week 1 injury, but Van Noy refused to miss a single game.
Browns Fire OC Ken Dorsey, OL Coach Andy Dickerson; HC Kevin Stefanski, GM Andrew Berry To Be Retained
Hours after their dismal 3-14 campaign came to an end, the Browns have made major changes to their offensive staff. The team has fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network was first to report.
Dorsey, 43, appeared in five games at quarterback for the Browns between the 2006 and 2008 seasons, and he began his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach for the Panthers in 2013, a role he held for five years. He took the same job with the Bills in 2019, and his work with Buffalo QB Josh Allen encouraged the club to promote him to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2022 campaign, following Brian Daboll‘s departure to become head coach of the Giants.
Dorsey’s first season in charge of the Bills’ offense went as well as could be expected, as the team finished second in the league in terms of both yards per game and points per game. In 2023, however, the unit appeared to stagnate, and Dorsey was given his walking papers at a time when Buffalo was 5-5 (even though the team was still in the top-10 in total and scoring offense).
Despite the midseason ouster, the former Miami (Fla.) standout generated OC interest last offseason. With a roster that otherwise appeared playoff-worthy, the Browns hired Dorsey to replace Alex Van Pelt in the hopes that the former could work the same magic with Deshaun Watson that he had with Allen in Buffalo and Cam Newton in Carolina. Of course, those hopes were unrealized, as Watson struggled before succumbing to a season-ending injury in October.
Immediately after Watson’s injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski — who had been calling offensive plays up to that point — handed the reins to Dorsey. When the switch happened, Cleveland was 1-6 and was 29th in the league in scoring and last in total offense (h/t Zac Jackson and Larry Holder of The Athletic (subscription required)). And while there was some improvement when Jameis Winston was inserted into the lineup, including upset wins over division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Winston himself was benched in the wake of a familiar spate of interception-laden contests, and the team played out the last three games of the season with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe under center.
Clearly, Dorsey is not the primary reason for Cleveland’s failures this season, but Stefanski has proven that his offense — whose concepts did not mesh well with Dorsey’s — can work with anyone other than Watson at quarterback, and as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirms, the head coach will remain in place in 2025 (the same is true of GM Andrew Berry). Watson, by virtue of his albatross contract that was recently restructured yet again, will also be back with the Browns, though the team is expected to pursue another starter-caliber passer in the coming months.
A compelling plan in that regard will likely be necessary to convince a coveted external candidate to come to Cleveland, as it would be surprising to see a coach with other options hitch their wagon to Watson at this point. Should the Browns choose to promote from within, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports names tight ends coach Tommy Rees as a name to watch. The team could have competition for Rees, as he has been mentioned as a possible OC hire for Mike Vrabel if Vrabel — who just wrapped his consulting gig with the Browns — should become a head coach in the upcoming cycle.
Dickerson, 42, also lasted just one season in Cleveland. He had big shoes to fill when former O-line coach Bill Callahan left to join son Brian Callahan‘s first staff in Tennessee, and the difficulty of his job was compounded by the numerous injuries that the Browns’ front five sustained this year. As Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Jounral notes, left guard Joel Bitonio was the only OL who did not miss time in 2024.
By season’s end, Vrabel was also working quite a bit with the O-line, at which point the writing was on the wall for Dickerson.
Browns Not Planning HC, GM Changes; Team Aiming To Add Deshaun Watson Competition
The Cardinals and Titans’ decisions during and after the 2022 season reveal how quickly organizations’ big-picture plans can change. After signing lengthy offseason extensions, Steve Keim and Jon Robinson were out of jobs by January 2023. The Browns’ historic Deshaun Watson misstep would naturally point to consideration into bailing on the extensions given to Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski.
A Browns ownership group known for quick-trigger decisions for a long time finally found a coach-GM pair it deemed worthy of extending. Prior to Stefanski’s arrival, no Browns HC had lasted longer than 40 games; the coach who did persist for that long (Hue Jackson) went 3-36-1. Under the Haslams’ leadership, no GM had lasted longer than two full seasons (John Dorsey). Berry changed that as well. As it stands, the current Cleveland football-ops bosses are on track to extend those tenures.
Although both Browns power brokers were believed to be aligned on the 2022 Watson trade, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes the Haslams are not planning to make GM or HC changes in 2025. Browns ownership has been pleased with the way the duo has kept the team unified, even as this year’s squad has fallen well short of expectations after a 2023 playoff berth and the Browns entering the season with an NFL-most 12 players signed to eight-figure-per-year contracts.
Despite Watson’s poor play appearing to seal the 2022 trade’s place as the worst in NFL history (when finances are considered), the staffers tasked with making it work will be given a chance to rebound — likely with a new starting quarterback. Jimmy Haslam said soon after the trade Berry hatched the plan to fully guarantee the $230MM contract to move the Browns back in the race — after Watson had eliminated Cleveland from consideration in an otherwise-NFC South-based sweepstakes — so it would stand to reason his seat could be hotter than Stefanski’s given the latter’s accolades. Right now, though, neither’s seat appears too warm.
Cleveland’s Jameis Winston-led victory in a snowstorm moved the team to 3-8. This year’s Browns are on pace to check in with a worse record than they did under Freddie Kitchens (6-10). That season keyed Dorsey’s ouster, but it appears the Haslams will be uncharacteristically patient despite the Watson trade set to plague the Browns for at least two more years. The capital Stefanski and Berry have built through playoff berths in 2020 and ’23, both seasons producing Stefanski Coach of the Year nods, looks to be enough for the tandem to survive the historic QB mistake.
On the Watson front, Breer adds the Browns are likely to keep him around — if only because of the unfathomable dead money a 2025 release would bring — but add competition. Rather than bring in a backup as the team has done for three straight years (Jacoby Brissett, Dorian Thompson-Robinson/Joe Flacco, Winston), the Browns are expected to set their sights on a starter-caliber arm who can compete with Watson. Given Watson’s poor performance and Achilles tear, it probably should be expected the Browns will shop for a new starter soon.
This player may well need to be a draft choice, due to Watson’s contract — now featuring two $72.9MM cap numbers thanks to two Berry-authorized restructures — running through 2026. But Breer adds the Browns are likely to gauge the veteran market as well.
Stefanski and Berry stopped short of saying Watson will be expected to start again in 2025, though each factored the struggling QB’s injury rehab into the equation. Watson, however, saw his season end after a string of woeful performances, which brought questions to Stefanski about whether ownership was making him start the disappointing QB. It would cost the Browns $172MM to release Watson next year; even in a post-June 1 scenario, either half of the two-offseason dead money bill would break the record the Broncos recently shattered with their Russell Wilson release ($83MM-plus).
As the Browns prepare to pursue a potential new starter, Watson may be set for another season in limbo. After he requested a Texans trade only to see a slew of sexual assault/misconduct allegations surface, Houston made the former Pro Bowler a healthy scratch throughout the 2021 season. The Browns could slow-play Watson’s rehab by stashing him on the reserve/PUP list to start next season, but eventually a call to bench the sunk-cost passer will need to be made.
A post-June 1 cut scenario now looks more likely to involve 2026. Unless another restructure again knocks down Watson’s cap hit — which is quite possible considering no team has ever carried a $50MM-plus cap number on a payroll in-season — it would cost the Browns $99.8MM to dump Watson in 2026.
It is far from certain Berry and Stefanski will be making the decisions by then, an ownership duo famous for impulsive moves during its first several years in charge is not ready to pull the plug on what had been a successful regime (well, absent a quarterback move that has otherwise defined its run).