Browns fire Stefanski; Berry to remain GM and lead coaching search
The Cleveland Browns fired head coach Kevin Stefanski, the team announced Monday.
Stefanski won NFL Coach of the Year twice during his six-year tenure with the Browns and posted a 45-56 regular-season record.
Andrew Berry will remain as general manager and lead the search for Cleveland's next head coach. Berry and Stefanski were hired together in 2020, and they both signed extensions in June 2024.
"Coming into the season, we were realistic that we were a team, a roster in transition. ... This decision is born from the fact that we ultimately felt like we did not see enough progress in areas that were controlled, independent of outcomes," Berry told reporters Monday, according to ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi.
Stefanski made the playoffs in 2020 and 2023, going 1-2 in the postseason. However, the 43-year-old went 8-26 over the last two seasons while Cleveland's offense ranked last in EPA/play and success rate during that stretch, according to Ben Baldwin's database.
The Browns struggled to find consistent quarterback play under Stefanski. Since 2020, 12 different signal-callers made at least one start, including three passers this season. Joe Flacco, who started the last five games in 2023 and helped Cleveland reach the playoffs, was named the starter in August. He led the Browns in the first four contests before getting traded to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders have started since Flacco was dealt. Out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks in 2025, Sanders ranked 37th in EPA/play, while Gabriel finished 38th.
The Browns' big swing to solidify the quarterback position during Stefanski's tenure was trading three first-round picks to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson in 2022. They later signed him to a five-year, $230-million fully guaranteed contract before he'd taken a snap with the team. Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season following an NFL investigation into numerous allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct.
The 30-year-old has started 19 games since joining the Browns due to the suspension and multiple injuries, posting a 9-10 record. He's thrown for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and has never played in a postseason game. He's under contract through the 2028 campaign and has a $80.7-million cap hit in 2026, according to Over The Cap.
The Haslam family has now fired six coaches since buying the franchise in 2012. Cleveland's 78-150-1 regular-season record since the purchase is the third-lowest winning percentage among all NFL teams.
The move to fire Stefanski "was as difficult as any we've ever had to make because of the quality of the person involved," owner Jimmy Haslam said, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. "Organized, worked hard, navigated our ship for six years through the inevitable ups and downs that we face in the NFL. Outstanding father and husband. ...
"Ownership takes full responsibility for where we are. To win eight games in two years is horrible. It's totally unacceptable, OK. It's not going to continue, OK? And I want the fans to know we are as frustrated as you are, and we hear a lot from our fans, which we actually appreciate."
Stefanski is expected to speak with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans about their respective head coaching vacancies, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.