Cleveland Browns Fans Are Demanding Change—Here’s Why Sticking With Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski in 2024 Is the Smarter Move
This season has been terrible for the Cleveland Browns, and I’m fully aware of that. Despite how bad it has been, I still think it makes sense to give general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski another run. Most of the people breaking down the team’s failures aren’t wrong about what went wrong. I just come to a different conclusion about what to do next. It’s too easy to say, “Fire these guys and everything will improve.” That’s not how this usually works.
I respect the insight that voices like The Athletic’s Zac Jackson bring to the table. I understand the argument that Berry shouldn’t be trusted to select the next wave of players. I just happen to disagree. Berry is just 37 and finishing his fourth year in charge of the Browns. He's not the kind of executive that says he wouldn't change anything if he had a chance to do it over again. He'll be evasive and won't tell you what he would change, but does anyone think he's a reality-denier that wouldn't do anything differently if he could change the past?
I’ve watched truly dysfunctional regimes like those under Ray Farmer and George Kokinis, and this front office doesn’t resemble that disorder at all. This operation might need to improve and adjust to subpar results on the field this season, but it isn’t a circus. It's not the kind of operation that must be excised from the team immediately, at least from my outsider's perspective.
The defense on the field last year was among the league’s best, which did a lot to cover up the team’s biggest weaknesses. I know everyone’s worried about Watson’s contract and what it means for flexibility, and that’s fair. But we’re not dealing with amateurs here. They have a professional approach, even if it doesn’t always produce the desired results. I am saying they’ve done some reasonable things that make you think this is a professional operation that can reflect on its mistakes and improve over time.
Of course, the Deshaun Watson deal is likely the worst player acquisition in the team’s history. The contract alone would have been enough to say that, and then all the draft picks were thrown in on top to make it even worse. Obviously, that’s tough to swallow. Still, this front office got the Browns into the playoffs a year ago despite that awful deal. They found ways to add receivers like Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy through trades. They have managed Nick Chubb’s situation in a way that respected him as a player and a person.
I’m not claiming everything is fine, but I think this Browns defense can get back on track next year. They can find a reasonable bridge-level quarterback and, with their last-place schedule, might be able to challenge for a fringe playoff spot again.
I don't know exactly how they get there, but it's not likely with Watson playing any meaningful role. And as far as those reports go that Watson might get another chance in Cleveland, I wouldn't read much into it. The Browns almost have to say that stuff, but I will wait and see what they do, not what they say. Managing the worst trade in franchise history isn't an easy thing, and that includes what kinds of things you say as the disastrous player is rehabbing an Achilles tear while posting vacation videos from tropical locations rather than spending time with his teammates suffering through a difficult season.
There’s a chance Berry and Stefanski could fail completely in the next couple of seasons. If that happens, anyone who wants them gone can say, “I told you so.” But I think it’s still reasonable to give them more time. The Browns have known chaos and dysfunction before. This doesn't feel like that. The team is just having a really awful season. It happens, but it doesn't mean that everything is lost. I’d rather let them try to correct the course than blow it up again.