The Kevin Stefanski era in Cleveland is over. On Monday, the Cleveland Browns fired their head coach, despite the team finishing the 2025-26 NFL season on a winning note. The Browns, with Myles Garrett setting a new single-season record for sacks, defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-18 in Week 18.
However, Stefanski’s leadership was criticized at times throughout the year. Cleveland finished the season 5-12, which is a disappointing record.
Why Did the Browns Fire HC Kevin Stefanski?
Stefanski’s Browns had losing streaks of two, three, and four games throughout the season. He’s been the Browns’ head coach for six seasons and finishes with a 45-56 overall coaching record in Cleveland.
“We have tremendous gratitude for Kevin’s leadership of the Cleveland Browns over the last six seasons,” Browns Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement after firing Stefanski. “He is a good football coach and an even better person. We appreciate all his hard work and dedication to our organization but our results over the last two seasons have not been satisfactory, and we believe a change at the head coaching position is necessary.”
“We wish Kevin, Michelle and the Stefanski family all the best in the future,” They added. “Andrew Berry will continue to lead our football operations.”
He had two winning seasons during his tenure, with records of 11-5 in his first season back in 2020 and 11-6 in 2023. Beyond those two seasons, though, the closest the Browns came to the .500 mark was in 2021, when Cleveland finished 8-9. In 2020 and 2023, the team reached the NFL playoffs, and the head coach had a 1-2 record in the postseason.
Before joining the Cleveland Browns, Stefanski was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. Prior to that, he held numerous roles with the Vikings, dating back to 2006. Those roles included assistant, assistant quarterbacks coach, tight ends coach, running backs coach, quarterbacks coach, and, finally, offensive coordinator.
Sources: Kevin Stefanski is out as the Browns head coach.
After moving on from Cleveland, Stefanski now is expected to be one of the top candidates in this hiring cycle. pic.twitter.com/db3fFLEZRh
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2026
Entering the 2025 NFL season, the Browns pretty much had a full house at the quarterback position. Besides veteran quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, Cleveland added Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders through the 2025 NFL Draft. While Pickett was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders before the start of the season, Flacco was sent to the Cincinnati Bengals during the season, giving Gabriel a chance to start.
But Gabriel got injured, which gave Sanders a chance at the starting role. According to the PFSN NFL Offense Impact Metric, Cleveland had an impact score of 52.4 and was graded an F, finishing the season as the worst offense in the league.
Stefanski caught heat from Browns fans for not having the team in a better position to compete, and the team’s lack of consistency on offense drew criticism as well.
Now, the Browns will start a search for a new head coach. Among the names being mentioned regarding Cleveland’s role are Kliff Kingsbury, the former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. This season, Kingsbury has worked under Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn as the team’s offensive coordinator.
A couple of other names potentially tied to the Cleveland job include Jesse Minter, the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Klint Kubiak, the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.
Keeping a head coach for a long period of time has been a challenge under Browns owner Jim Haslam. Stefanski bought some time during his tenure with Cleveland after getting off to such a good start. In the end, though, the Browns’ losing ways caught up to him.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
