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.
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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.