The owners of the Cleveland Browns, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, released a statement on Monday confirming the firing of head coach Kevin Stefanski after six seasons. Posting only eight wins in the past two seasons, Haslam will be making the Browns’ sixth coaching hire since buying the franchise in 2012. For the team’s overall poor record, in his view, the responsibility lies entirely with ownership.

“Ownership takes full responsibility for where we are,” said Jimmy Haslam, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com on X. “To win eight games in two years is horrible. It’s totally unacceptable, OK? And it’s not going to continue, OK? I want the fans to know we’re as frustrated as you are.”

Haslam explicitly stated that winning 8 games in two years does not paint a good picture. He promised the Browns would be presenting them with a ‘better product’ in the upcoming season. The goal is to maintain consistency, which has been lacking from the Browns.

He is not wrong, though. The Browns made it to the playoffs in 2020, missed the next two seasons, made it to the playoffs in 2023, and then again missed the next two seasons. The lack of consistency is clearly visible.

The Haslams bought the Cleveland Browns in 2012, and if nothing else, the Browns have been consistent in finishing fourth under the Haslams. Out of the fourteen seasons, they have finished fourth on nine different occasions and recorded their worst win-loss ratio in 2017, when they lost all of their 16 games. So, yes, it is unacceptable.

Despite the unacceptable outcomes, Andrew Berry has remained in his role as general manager.

“I want to comment on Andrew because I know there are questions out there: Why didn’t you change both of them, or why didn’t you change Andrew and not Kevin?” Haslam clarified. “I would say this: I think Andrew, over the last year, has done a very good job.”

Fortunately, following their 5-12 record, the Browns will get the sixth pick during the 2026 NFL Draft. It could be the perfect place to start the development of the squad. While Jimmy Haslam took responsibility for being inconsistent and praised Andrew for his performance, he placed some portion of blame on Kevin Stefanski for the lousy 2025 season.

Jimmy Haslam blames Kevin Stefanski for failing to win with the current squad

Jimmy Haslam appointed Kevin Stefanski as the head coach in 2020. And as expected, he ended their playoff drought in his first season. However, after two failed seasons, they parted ways. Haslam believes the Browns had a promising squad, but Stefanski failed to bring out the best of them.

“It’s easy for me to say yes,” Haslam said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “So yeah, I think it was good enough to win more games.”

The statement might be a bit too harsh, especially since the Browns suffered from quarterback issues. Their first quarterback, Deshaun Watson, was injured for half of the time. He has played just 19 games since 2022. Then there is Dillon Gabriel, who had significant game time this season but also got injured mid-season. Finally, there’s their rookie, Shedeur Sanders, who shows promise but needs to be polished.

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While the Cleveland Browns‘ owner spoke about how frustrated they are, along with the fans, the latter won’t be on the same page as them in this regard. According to Team Rankings, the Browns are ranked 29th in the league, showcasing that the analysts also disagree with the owners.

However, it’s all in the past now. Jimmy and Dee Haslam have tasked GM Andrew Berry with finding the next head coach and leading the football operations. It remains to be seen who gets hired as the new head coach.