Stefanski was dismissed Monday morning after six seasons. The Browns won their final two games to finish 5-12, including a 20-18 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
“We’re capable of winning more than the games that we won, but we obviously didn’t. Things are going to change and have to change. We got to find a way to get this thing rolling,” cornerback Denzel Ward said.
The Haslams are not doing a total housecleaning, announcing that Andrew Berry will remain as general manager. Berry joined the Browns in 2019 and was named GM the following year. Stefanski and Berry signed multiyear contract extensions in June 2024.
“We all owe him a debt of gratitude and appreciation for a level of success that he brought the organization that really hadn’t been achieved since 2002,” Berry said. “Coming into this season, we were realistic that we were a team and a roster in transition. And ultimately, this decision is born from the fact that we ultimately felt like we did not see enough progress in areas that were controllable, independent of certain game outcomes.”
The 43-year-old Stefanski, a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year, went 46-58. He guided Cleveland to playoff berths in 2020 and 2023. The Browns’ 48-37 wild-card win over Pittsburgh in the 2020 season was the franchise’s first since 1994.
“I’d like to especially thank my coaching staff and the players who did everything that was ever asked of them. They fought through injury and adversity, while always putting the team first,” Stefanski said in a statement released through the Browns.
Stefanski is the sixth coach fired since the Haslams bought the franchise in 2012. The five coaches hired by the Haslams have a 73-139-1 regular-season record, the second-worst mark in the NFL. Stefanski was also the first Cleveland coach to last at least six seasons since Sam Rutigliano (1978 through the midway point of the 1984 season).
Jimmy Haslam indicated the decision had already been made before Stefanski met with ownership Monday morning.
“I think those decisions tend to be made over a period of time,” Haslam said during a news conference 45 minutes after the firing was announced. “I don’t think there was one breaking point. I think you’ve got to look at the body of work, and sometimes it’s just time for a change.”
QB dysfunction dooms Stefanski
Stefanski established a positive culture in a historically dysfunctional franchise but was ultimately undone by the persistent issue that has troubled the Browns since 1999: the absence of a franchise quarterback.
During his tenure, Stefanski started 13 different quarterbacks, including seven over the past two seasons.
The Browns thought they had their quarterback in 2022 when they released Baker Mayfield and acquired Deshaun Watson from Houston for five draft picks, including three in the first round.
Instead, the trade for Watson has set the Browns back for years.
Watson has played in only 19 games. He has gone 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and an 80.7 passer rating. He did not play this season while rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon. Watson practiced for three weeks last month, but was not activated to the roster.
Watson played seven games in 2023 before a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 10. The Browns brought in Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and averaged more than 300 passing yards per game, helping Cleveland reach the playoffs for only the third time since 1999.
Jimmy Haslam said during the league meetings last March that the Browns “took a big swing and miss” with the Watson trade and that “we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Flacco returned to the Browns in the offseason and started four games before being traded to Cincinnati.
Stefanski was criticized for not giving rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders first-team practice reps until he entered in the second half against Baltimore on Nov. 16.
Sanders started the final seven games, going 3-4. He faced growing pains, including a makeshift line and missing the leading rusher and receiver for the last two games.
Whether Sanders convinced the Browns that he can start next season will be debated in the coming months.
“I showed different pieces in different games to all add up to one complete quarterback. I feel like this was a good learning year for me,” Sanders said on Monday.
The Browns joined the 1968 Buffalo Bills as the only teams in the Super Bowl era to have rookies lead the team in passing, rushing, and receiving yards.
The next couple of months
The Browns have two first-round selections in April’s NFL draft — the sixth overall pick and one later in the round, depending on when the Jacksonville Jaguars are eliminated in the playoffs.
Cleveland finished fourth in the league in total defense, with Myles Garrett recording 23 sacks and setting a league single-season record. However, the offense ranked 30th, averaging only 16.4 points per game, the league’s second-fewest.
Garrett said last Friday that he is not interested in another rebuilding process.
“I’m committed to winning, and as long as the organization is doing so and they’re committed to that same thing, then I’m all on board,” he said. “But if we’re thinking anything other than winning — tanking or rebuilding, that’s not me.”
Stefanski is expected to be a prime candidate for other openings throughout the league. A more immediate concern for the Browns is retaining defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Schwartz has head coaching experience, leading the Detroit Lions from 2009 through 2013. Berry said he would consider Schwartz for the in-house opening.
Even though the Browns’ opening would seem to be geared toward someone with previous experience — such as Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores or former Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy — Berry said there would be no preconceived notions going into this search.
“It’s not just leadership by position, but I’d say leadership more globally. Because when you hire a head coach, it’s someone who has to be able to lead your players, staff, and the organization through hardship and crisis,” Berry said. “We’ll be looking for something different than maybe some of the other openings have, based on where they are as a team.
“Some good coaches will fit us, but they won’t fit the Titans. Some will fit the Giants, and they won’t necessarily fit us, but we’re looking for the right leader and the right partner for our present situation, and I have a lot of confidence that we’ll be able to find that person.”
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