Jimmy Haslam said GM Andrew Berry had a 'very good year' and blamed the team's 8-26 record the past two years on coach Kevin Stefanski, and that's the reason he was fired. (TheLandOnDemand)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said head coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry worked “extremely well” together and their partnership never weakened over six years.
So why did Haslam break up the partnership and let Stefanski go and Berry stay?
Essentially, Haslam blamed the 8-26 record the past two years on Stefanski and not on Berry’s roster-building. He said he thought the roster “was good enough to win more games.”
“To win eight games in two years is horrible. It’s totally unacceptable and it’s not going to continue,” Haslam said. “Our sole goal here is to be a consistent winner, not make the playoffs [only] in ‘20 and then make it again in ‘23, not win eight games in two years. That’s not what we’re trying to do. That’s not acceptable.”
Haslam proceeded to tout Berry’s record in player acquisitions this past season.
He singled out the signing of defensive tackle Maliek Collins in what he called “a very efficient free agency.”
He cited Berry’s draft-day trade with Jacksonville that netted the Browns second- and fourth-round picks in 2025 and a first-round pick in 2026.
“Then we had one of the better drafts that we’ve ever had,” Haslam said. “They’re not only really good players, they’re really good people. And they will be the cornerstone with which we’ll build and grow and develop this winning team.”
Haslam lauded Berry for finding Andre Szmyt after the club has “struggled to have a consistent place-kicker here … really the whole time we’ve owned the team.”
Finally, he mentioned the trade for cornerback Tyson Campbell, also from Jacksonville, in exchange for cornerback Greg Newsome.
Not only did Berry’s 2025 transaction season earn him a return as GM, Haslam empowered Berry with leading the search for Stefanski’s successor with “key members of his organization” and said “ownership will be involved in the process.”
Haslam added, “I think that core that Andrew has put together this year will help move us forward. We hope to have similar results this coming year.
“Let me just say this – the next 120 days are crucial for the organization, OK? We’ve got to find the right head coach, we’ve got to be efficient again in free agency. We have 10 draft picks, including two number ones, we have four of the top four picks in the top three rounds, OK? And we’ve got to get really good players who are really good people again. We’ve got to be opportunistic if trade opportunities come along. We are solely focused on having a great 120 days so we can start winning games around here.”
Haslam said the Browns would start the head coach search “literally this afternoon.”
But he was not ready to say if defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would be a candidate.
“The leadership required out of a head coach in the NFL, it’s one of the tougher leadership jobs I’ve ever seen,” Haslam said. “So, they’ve got to be a good leader. I think they’ve got to be smart in terms of IQ, EQ [emotional quotient] and football acumen. And obviously they’re going to bring expertise on one side of the ball. We do not have bias on whether they should be from the offense or the defense.”
Haslam spoke only for roughly 10 minutes in front of a sponsorship backdrop moved to the lobby of the team headquarters. He took only 13 questions, and declined to speak about the team’s ongoing search for a franchise quarterback.