Despite saying that now-fired Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was like family to him, team general manager Andrew Berry said not enough progress was made in key areas to give the two-time NFL Coach of the Year a seventh season.
"Game strategy going into the game, in-game decision making, certainly player development if you're a young team... the (quarterbacks) are obviously a big part of it, but there are multiple areas and some, quite frankly, I thought we did very well. Others, we didn't see enough progress," Berry said during a press conference Monday.
Reporters peppered Berry, who will lead the search for the next head coach, with questions about his roster construction and deficits in both the receiver group and offensive linemen.
"It's no secret that that's where we're going to invest most of our resources this offseason," Berry said of the offense. "The offensive line, that's a position group that I do imagine will have a fair amount of turnover as we go into 2026, but we also do feel like it was important this year, and quite honestly, going into next year, to give young players snaps if we're ultimately going to build a core and foundation that we need to win perennially."
Berry said the organization knew it wouldn't be able to fix everything last offseason, after pivoting away from injured quarterback Deshaun Watson and the trade that required three first-round picks, six total, to Houston, and a subsequent $230 million contract for Watson. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has since called the trade, depleting the organization's assets, "a big swing and miss."
Haslam said Monday he felt the roster in 2025 was better than the 5-12 record, and recounted some of Berry's accomplishments in the decision to retain him.
"I think we added four really good football players who were either first-team all-rookie or second-team all-rookie, and I think (linebacker) Carson (Schwesinger) has a really good chance to be the... Defensive Rookie of the Year," Haslam said.
Haslam also noted an effective free agent pickup in defensive lineman Maliek Collins and the trade for defensive back Tyson Campbell as recent wins for Berry.
Though Stefanski was fired and Berry was retained, Haslam said ownership takes full responsibility for the team's performance the last two seasons.
"To win eight games in two years is horrible," Haslam said. "It's totally unacceptable, OK? And it's not gonna continue, OK? And I want the fans to know we are as frustrated as you are."
Both Haslam and Berry offered high praise for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who has guided the Browns to the top overall defensive ranking in 2023 and the fourth overall defense in 2025. Haslam said he "absolutely" wants Schwartz to remain with the organization, while Berry said Schwartz, a former Detroit Lions head coach, has earned consideration for the top job in Cleveland.
Conversely, the offense, Stefanski's specialty, finished 28th out of 32 teams in 2024 and 30th in 2025.
Fans react with relief
The poor marks and inconsistency led fans in Cleveland who spoke with Ideastream Public Media to the consistent opinion that Stefanski needed to go.
“He’s been there six years," said Alphonso Tidwell. "Out of six years, if you can’t get us a winning team, it’s time to go.”
Todd Widman said he’d been hoping for a new coach for a couple of years.
“There’s been a lot of struggles and a lot of frustrations, and it felt like no matter what we did, we couldn’t put an actual solid team on the field,” Widman said.
Stefanski's two playoff appearances, coinciding with his two Coach of the Year awards, weren't enough for Edwin Hubbard Jr.
“Congratulations on being two-time Coach of the Year, but just like you got those, you got those losing seasons," Hubbard Jr. said. "You’ve got to own those, too.”
The Browns said they'll be open-minded in the head coaching search, which officially kicked off Monday afternoon.
