Watching the Cleveland Browns fire Kevin Stefanski wasn't much of a surprise, all things considered. Then again, he shouldn't have been the only one to lose his job. If anything, he did what he could with the hand he was given, and GM Andrew Berry was the architect of this flawed roster.
Year after year, Berry ended on the losing end of trades, failed to find any value in the NFL Draft, and swung and missed in his attempt to find a franchise quarterback. Time and time again, he was rewarded. Unfortunately, that was the case again this offseason.
Mike McDaniel's decision to withdraw himself from consideration for the Browns' head coaching position just hours before an in-person interview put the team in a tough spot. Berry was in charge of the process, so it was only right that something like this happened.
The Browns’ head coach search is paying the price for poor planning
The Browns still haven't satisfied the Rooney Rule. That means they need to conduct an in-person interview with another outside candidate. That candidate must be a minority or a woman, and that's where things get messy.
Most teams make sure to comply with the rule in the first wave of interviews, even when they know they're not going to hire those candidates. Berry didn't prepare for the worst-case scenario, and now, they must convince an assistant coach to meet with them in-person, even knowing that it's just a waste of everybody's time to satisfy the rule.
The Browns have already moved on to the second round of interviews with five candidates, so they should have a clear idea of who they want to take the reins of the team. However, most of their candidates also have other offers, and they're wasting precious time just because the guy in charge failed to prepare for this scenario.
This is just another example of how Berry continues to set this organization back, yet is never held accountable. To his credit, he finally did well in the draft with this year's amazing class, but that shouldn't have been enough to buy him more time after six years of failure.
The Browns were probably never going to get a fair shot at the top candidates in the hiring cycle. But even if they end up getting the guy they want, it shouldn't have to be this difficult. This is the type of miscue that makes it so hard to change the narrative about this organization, and why outside candidates, such as Chris Shula or McDaniel, were likely never truly interested in taking the job.