Browns announce firing of head coach Kevin Stefanski

Cleveland announced the departure of the coach who had been in the position for six years and ratified Andrew Berry as its general manager

BEREA — The Cleveland Browns head coach fired Kevin Stefanski after six seasons.

Los Browns They finished the 2025 season with a 5-12 record, earning them last place in the AFC North for the second straight year and their fourth losing season under the direction of Kevin Stefanski.

“We feel immense gratitude for the leadership of Kevin in front of the Cleveland Browns during the last six seasons,” declared this Monday the owners of the BrownsJimmy and Dee Haslam, through a statement. “He is a good football coach and an even better person. We appreciate all of his hard work and dedication to our organization, but our results over the past two seasons have not been satisfactory, and we believe a change in the head coaching position is necessary.”

Los Browns They also announced this Monday that Andrew Berry, who came to Cleveland con Kevin Stefanski In 2020, he will remain in his position as general manager.

“Our primary focus is building a team that provides our fans with the success they so richly deserve, and we will continue to work tirelessly toward that goal and invest every resource necessary to build a winning program,” the Haslams said. “Andrew will immediately begin our extensive process to find a new head coach and exceptional leader for our team. We have a promising core of young players to build upon, and Andrew and his team are determined to add talent to this core and build a roster that can achieve sustainable success.”

The decision to separate Kevin Stefanski It comes two seasons after he won his second NFL Coach of the Year award and less than two years after receiving a contract extension.

From 2020 to 2023, Kevin Stefanski led to the Browns to two playoff appearances and the highest winning percentage (.552) for the team in a four-year period from 1986-89. However, Cleveland has struggled the last two seasons with a combined record of 8-26. This season marked the fourth season with a losing record for the Browns In six years under the direction of Kevin Stefanski.

“After six seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Browns“I leave with immense gratitude,” he said. Kevin Stefanski in a statement issued by the team. “When I arrived in January 2020, this organization, this community and the fans of the Browns They welcomed me and my family with open arms. I can't put into words how well they have treated us. A sincere thank you to everyone with whom I have had the great fortune to work during these six seasons. I would like to especially thank my staff and players, who did everything that was asked of them. They battled injuries and adversity, always putting the team first. I wish you all much success.”

Kevin Stefanski posted a 45-56 record in the regular season and led Cleveland to the playoffs in 2020 and 2023. He won his first Coach of the Year award in 2020, after a season in which the Browns They defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, the franchise's first postseason victory since 1994. Kevin Stefanski He was not present at the game and could not lead the team after testing positive for COVID-19. He won his second Coach of the Year award for helping Cleveland to return to the playoffs in 2023, despite a host of injuries, which included having five different quarterbacks.

Los Browns are once again embarking on the search for their next head coach, who will be the franchise's 11th since 1999. The firing of Kevin Stefanski marks the organization's second high-profile departure from the Browns in recent months. Paul DePodesta, who served as the team's chief strategy officer for nearly a decade, left the organization last November to become president of baseball operations for the Colorado Rockies.

“This was a difficult decision and today is a tough day for our organization due to the impact it Kevin has already had the deep and meaningful relationships he has built throughout the institution,” Berry said in a statement. “We have great respect for Kevinwho has led our organization through unique and challenging circumstances during his six seasons. During that time, he has been more than a coach, but also a partner, friend and stabilizing force for our team. He has always led with authenticity and cared deeply about the players, coaches and staff of the teams. Brownsinvesting all his energy in improving the team on a daily basis. More recently, the firm hand of Kevin guided us through the most turbulent part of our strategic turnaround and transition period. Working with a young team and an imperfect roster, he laid the foundations of professionalism and created a learning environment for a new generation of players from the Browns.

“I am disappointed that we were not able to achieve more together and I take responsibility for the collective underperformance of our group. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to our fans to convert the Browns in an organization that achieves sustained success. Now, our focus is on finding the person to lead and develop a young offense, with heavy investment over the next six months, to match and exceed the performance of a young defense that is already playing at an elite level.

The problems of Cleveland In recent seasons they were reflected in the ineffectiveness of their offense, which was supposed to be the strong point of Kevin Stefanski as a play caller. The Browns They scored fewer than 20 points in 11 games this season, the most in the league. When Cleveland returned from bye in Week 9, Kevin Stefanski announced that he was handing over play-calling duties to Tommy Rees. It was the second consecutive year that Kevin Stefanski renounced this responsibility.

Los Browns They used three different starting quarterbacks in 2025: Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Flacco, who helped Cleveland To make the playoffs in the 2023 season after Deshaun Watson was sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury, he started the first four games but was benched after a 1-3 start and was then traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on October 7.

Gabriel, a third-round pick in the 2025 draft, started six straight games until he suffered a concussion against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, allowing Sanders to make his starting debut. Sanders, a fifth-round pick, started the final seven games of the season.

Watson, by whom Browns They traded three first-round picks to the Houston Texans and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in March 2022. He did not play in 2025 after rupturing his right Achilles tendon in Week 7 of last season. He underwent a second surgery in January after re-rupturing his Achilles tendon and spent the first 13 weeks of this season on the physically unable to play list. The Browns They designated Watson to return to training on December 3, but decided not to activate him on the 53-man roster at the end of his 21-day window.

League sources informed Adam Schefter of ESPN in December that the Browns They plan to have Watson, 30, on the roster in 2026. Sources told Schefter they opened Watson's training window so he wouldn't be away from football until next spring.

Watson has only played 19 games due to suspensions and injuries since his debut with the Browns. He has a Total QBR of 33.1 since joining Clevelandwho would tie Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward if Watson had played enough games to qualify. Watson has one year left on his contract and a cap hit of $80.7 million in 2026, the highest in the NFL.