Buy or sell on Browns rumors: Is Nick Chubb a serious cut candidate?
Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski will be given extensions: Buy
In four years, the Berry and Stefanski regime has flipped the Browns from being one of the most embarrassing franchises in all of professional sports into a team that the league is now forced to take seriously.
On the field, Stefanski has led Cleveland to 39 wins in his four seasons dating back to 2020. The Browns won 42 games combined between the years of 2010 and 2019. Despite often being under-appreciated by a portion of the Browns fan base, Stefanski's work hasn't gone unnoticed nationally, as he recently became only the 10th head coach in league history to win multiple coach of the year awards.
His performance during the 2023 season was remarkable, leading his team to an 11-6 record and a playoff birth, despite having started five different quarterbacks and having the rest of the roster brutalized by injuries.
No coach would be able to win without talent, however, and that's where Andrew Berry enters the conversation. It's valid that Berry inherited a talented roster, as Pro Bowlers Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, and Wyatt Teller preceded Berry's arrival in Cleveland. However, since then, Berry has added the talent necessary to take the team to the next level, via trades, free agency, and the draft alike.
Jack Conklin, Ethan Pocic, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Obo Okoronkwo were signed long-term as free agents. Maurice Hurst, Shelby Harris, and Anthony Walker all played last season on one-year deals. Amari Cooper and ZaDarius Smith were traded for in the 2022 and 2023 offseasons. Grant Delpit, Owusu-Koramoah, Newsome, Emerson, Alex Wright, Dawand Jones, and Cam Mitchell were all drafted by Berry. If Deshaun Watson, who was also acquired via trade, ends up working out, Berry should be regarded as a top GM in the game.
Despite being criticized at times by fans, like Stefanski, Berry absolutely deserves a new contract that will keep him in Cleveland for the forseeable future.