The wave of coaching and front office changes on the NFL’s Black Monday is picking up more pace as the Browns dismissed head coach Kevin Stefanski, a two-time winner of the league’s coach of the year award, early Monday.
On the heels of a 5–12 season, Cleveland’s second straight without a playoff appearance and fourth such campaign in five years, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam fired Stefanski. In six years with the Browns, Stefanski won the leaguewide honors in 2020 and again in 2023, but overall, he posted a 45–56 record and had been expected to be fired as the end of the regular season approached.
“I am disappointed that we could not accomplish more together and the collective underperformance of our group is something I own,” Browns EVP of football operations and GM Andrew Berry said of Stefanski. Berry will remain in his post.
“We will remain steadfast in our commitment to our fans in building the Browns into an organization that sustains success,” Berry said.
The firing arrives as the Browns are in the midst of other major transitions. The team recently reached a settlement with the city of Cleveland, worth at least $100 million, that will help allow the construction of a $2.4 billion domed stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio. Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta also left recently to become the Rockies’ president of baseball operations.
The next Browns coach will be the team’s 13th, including interims, since the franchise resumed in 1999. Six of the first 12 have been during the Haslam ownership era that began in 2012.
Other Teams Making Changes
Cleveland’s decision to move on from Stefanski is just one of several coaching and front office changes made across the NFL so far.
- Ravens: Baltimore parted ways with John Harbaugh after 18 seasons. He was the second-most-tenured coach in the league, behind the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, and led Baltimore to a Super Bowl XLVII title. Harbaugh had signed a three-year extension prior to this season and is under contract through the 2028 season. He earned $16 million this year, tied for fourth highest in the league.
- Raiders: Pete Carroll has had plenty of success in his coaching career, winning two college football national titles and a Super Bowl in Seattle. The Las Vegas stint, however, never came close to reaching those heights. The Raiders dismissed him Monday after a single season in which he went 3–14. That performance gave Las Vegas the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, but Carroll won’t be a part of it. Instead, GM John Spytek will “lead all football operations in close collaboration with [part-owner] Tom Brady, including the search for the club’s next head coach.” That decision will give Brady, also the lead on-air analyst for Fox’s NFL coverage, his biggest presence to date in the team’s functions. “Together, they will guide football decisions with a shared focus on leadership, culture, and alignment with the organization’s long-term vision and goals,” said Raiders owner Mark Davis.
- Cardinals: As expected, Arizona parted ways Monday with Jonathan Gannon after three years. Posting a 15–36 record over that time, the fate of the former Eagles defensive coordinator was largely sealed as the Cardinals finished the 2025 season with nine straight losses. Arizona’s defense collapsed during that ugly streak as each game had at least 20 points allowed, six of them had at least 30 points allowed, and four of them had at least 40 points surrendered. GM Monti Ossenfort will lead the search for Gannon’s replacement.
- Falcons: Atlanta dismissed head coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot on Sunday night. Morris went 16–18 in two years with the Falcons, missing the playoffs both years with the team. Fontenot had been with the Falcons since 2021, but he also failed to have a winning season or a playoff berth. Rich McKay, the longtime right-hand man of owner Arthur Blank, is also stepping down as CEO, and the franchise is creating a new position, president of football, and it is widely expected to be former Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, who is currently an NFL analyst for CBS Sports.
The Giants and Titans, meanwhile, fired their head coaches earlier in the season and have decisions to make on the status of their interim placements.
