Browns fire two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski after six seasons

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Kevin Stefanski led the Cleveland Browns to two playoff appearances in his first four seasons as head coach.

However, with only eight wins the past two seasons, owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam will be making their sixth coaching hire since purchasing the franchise in 2012.

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.”

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 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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Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks about the firing of former head coach Kevin Stefanski during a news conference at the Browns training facility, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam answers questions at the team complex in Berea, Ohio, on Jan. 5, 2026, after head coach Kevin Stefanski was fired. (AP photo/Joe Reedy)

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski walks on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The groundwork to find the New York Giants' next coach began not long after Brian Daboll was fired in November.

Joe Schoen went to work doing research and coming up with a list of potential candidates.

Now that the NFL regular season is over, the search begins in earnest. Interim coach Mike Kafka will get a courtesy interview, though that's just the start of the “wide net” Schoen promised to cast after ownership confirmed he'd be back for a fifth year as general manager.

“There’s no directive that it has to be an offensive guy or a defensive guy or special teams or college or whatever it may be — having head coaching experience previously,” Schoen said Monday. “There’s several criteria that we’re going to look for, leadership being an important element in the head coaching world. Football acumen will be important. Player development is very important, having a plan for player development (along with) holding people accountable and communication.”

Helping franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart take his game to the next level after an impressive rookie season is perhaps the most important job for whoever takes over. Dart on locker-cleanout day said he trusts Schoen and the owners to make the right hire and believes he can work with any coach.

“I definitely feel like there’s a relationship standpoint from a quarterback-to-head coach thing that you want, and I think that will help you play better on the field,” said Dart, who threw for 15 touchdowns and ran for nine more in his first 12 starts in the league. “You definitely want somebody who can match my intensity and I can match theirs and have the same vision and outlook of how we want things to be done and to win at the highest level.”

An older teammate invoked the name of the most recent person to win at the highest level with the Giants when asked what qualities he'd like to see in the next coach.

“Somebody that’s Tom Coughlin-esque,” veteran receiver Darius Slayton said. “It’s no mistake why he won when he was here was his personality and the way he went about his business, and I think it takes a certain type of person to be a head coach in New York. It’s tough job. It obviously comes with a lot of scrutiny, but I think you need to have a certain disposition to get the job done effectively and I feel like he probably embodies a lot of qualities that we require now.”

New York has had seven coaches since Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl champion, retired from coaching following the 2015 season. Counting two playoff games, they have gone 45-105-1: a winning percentage of .300.

“No matter who the coach is, the players got to step it up,” said running back Cam Skattebo, who had his rookie year cut short midway through by a broken right fibula and dislocated right ankle. “We have to lead (by) example for each other.”

While prior experience running an NFL team is not a prerequisite, it doesn't hurt the cases of Mike McCarthy, Vance Joseph or a couple of coaches who were freshly fired: John Harbaugh from Baltimore and Kevin Stefanski from Cleveland. Harbaugh figures to shoot to the top of the Giants' list after his abrupt dismissal by the Ravens on Tuesday.

Schoen did not know over the past eight weeks if Harbaugh, Stefanski, Atlanta's Raheem Morris or others would be available, so he spent time studying coordinators as part of a much longer process than he got after taking over as GM in January 2022, when he hired Daboll days later.

"Having this runway has really helped," Schoen said, “I feel really good about the information we’ve collected already. There’s some really good candidates on both sides of the ball, collegiately. We’re going to look everywhere.”

Offensive coordinators Klint Kubiak in Seattle and Kliff Kingsbury in Washington are among the options if the Giants look for someone known for working with QBs, such as Jacksonville found in Liam Coen for Trevor Lawrence and Chicago in Ben Johnson for Caleb Williams.

Intriguing defensive coordinators include Lou Anarumo in Indianapolis, Jeff Hafley in Green Bay and Chris Shula of the Los Angeles Rams.

Schoen cited Sean McDermott from his previous stop in Buffalo with Josh Allen and New England's Mike Vrabel with Drake Maye as defensive-minded coaches who have overseen quarterbacks becoming elite. But he has also said he wants the next coach to be able to lead the entire team, not just Dart, who might meet a candidate along the way but won't be asked for input on the hire.

Owners John Mara and Steve Tisch and their families will make the final call. Players offering their suggestions included edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux wanting “someone that pushes us” and tight end Theo Johnson a coach who can handle the pressure and get the most out of talent, while also relating to them as people.

“A leader: somebody that can lead men out to battle, somebody we want to go battle for and somebody that’s going to have your back when you’re out there on the field, somebody that’s going to uplift you when your down,” top receiver Malik Nabers said. “If we find someone that can do that, we’d be leaning to the right direction.”

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FILE - New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen reacts during Back Together Weekend at the team's NFL football training camp, July 27, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris talks to reporters after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski walks on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)