Kevin Stefanski just threw gas on the Browns’ front office drama with one hire

As soon as Kevin Stefanski’s split from the Cleveland Browns was made official back on Black Monday, all fans were thinking the same thing. 

That’s it? 

Owner Jimmy Haslam’s decision to retain general manager Andrew Berry, and put him in charge of the team’s search for the 23rd head coach in franchise history, is already aging poorly. Now three weeks in, the Browns have been spurned by some of the top candidates in this hiring cycle, including Chris Shula, Jesse Minter, and Mike McDaniel. They’ve also fumbled the ball with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which should only prolong their search even longer.

On paper, Cleveland shouldn’t be such an undesirable destination for head coach candidates. The team has a strong mix of young and established talent already under contract, especially on the defensive side of the football, and could drastically improve on last year’s 5-12 result with the right offseason moves and direction.

But there are obvious pressure points, from an owner with a track record of meddling and impatience, to the GM who’s been around and holds the final say on personnel. Cleveland’s vacancy might’ve been more attractive had Haslam cleaned house following the season; his decision to make Stefanski the proverbial scapegoat, though, has not only complicated matters, but has forced Berry to take a more outside-the-box approach to the Browns coach search.

The other layer to Stefanski vs. Berry? There will be a scoreboard in 2026, and Stefanski’s quick decision to poach Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees for the same job in Atlanta naturally creates a fascinating case study for fans to keep an eye on this year.

Kevin Stefanski just exposed the Browns without saying a word

The timing was definitely right for Stefanski to move on from Cleveland this offseason, but Haslam’s passionate defense of Berry during his end-of-season presser keeps looking worse by the day.

Berry made some excellent moves in 2025, starting with signing defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and re-signing linebacker Devin Bush in free agency. He then crushed the 2025 NFL Draft, landing one of the best overall players in the class in second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger, and a game-changing skill position weapon in third-round tight end Harold Fannin. 

Haslam also lauded Berry’s midseason swap that exchanged Greg Newsome II for Tyson Campbell — and with good reason; that move turned out to be a major value-add for Cleveland’s defense (while helping to sink the Jaguars in the AFC playoffs).

With all that being said, Berry’s fingerprints are also all over the team’s current personnel flaws, including the quarterback, Deshaun Watson, who’s currently due an NFL-record $80.7 million salary cap hit in 2026.

The Browns’ roster is in shambles in two areas: offense and special teams. They’ve been playing darts at the quarterback position for multiple years, have basically no starting caliber offensive linemen left, and have arguably the worst wide receiver room in football. Cleveland’s special teams, whether it be personnel or coaching, just completed one of the worst seasons in NFL history, based on DVOA.

Of course, Stefanski’s message had clearly run stale and it was time for him to go. But he was also left in an impossible situation, especially when it was clear in the first month of the season that the team’s aging offensive line wasn’t going to hold up. It got ugly fast, and not many coaches in football could’ve stopped what was coming.

As for Rees, the reports in early December indicated that he would remain in the team’s plans beyond 2025. The Browns interviewed Rees for their head coach vacancy shortly after Stefanski left the building.

The brutal truth is that Rees is only 33 years old, and he just coordinated an offense that finished 31st in both points per game and total EPA. No NFL coordinator keeps his job after a season like that, which makes Rees’ departure from Cleveland unsurprising — and his quick lateral move to Atlanta extremely telling.

Stefanski just said the quiet part without actually saying a word — the offensive personnel was the real problem in Cleveland, not the coaching. He just inherited a wealth of offensive talent in QB Michael Penix Jr., WR Drake London, RB Bijan Robinson, and right guard Chris Lindstrom that could help prove his point.

If two of the most prominent coaches on Cleveland’s 2025 staff find instant success in Atlanta, it’ll just be another giant L for Berry and the Browns.