Kevin Stefanski, Andrew Berry Agree to New Browns Contracts Ahead of 2024 NFL Season

The Cleveland Browns announced Wednesday they signed head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to extensions.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry leading the Cleveland Browns," principal owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. "Since the day they were hired, each has worked tirelessly to help the Cleveland Browns win.

"We are proud of what they and the team have achieved, but Kevin and Andrew would be the first to say that Browns fans deserve even more. Their leadership, collaborative approach, and ability to overcome obstacles bode well for the future of this franchise."

The Browns hired Stefanski as their head coach in January 2020, and the arrival of Berry followed a few weeks later.

Cleveland immediately made the playoffs that season and won its first postseason game since 1994. The team was back in the playoffs in 2023 but suffered a 45-14 blowout at the hands of the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Round.

Still, simply getting that far was an accomplishment considering injuries limited quarterback Deshaun Watson and running back Nick Chubb to eight combined appearances.

Stefanski also has the most wins (37) and highest winning percentage (.552) of any full-time Browns coach since the franchise returned to the league in 1999.

Ownership and the fanbase know this kind of success can't be taken totally for granted, so extending Stefanski and Berry's contracts was an easy call.

It will nonetheless be interesting to see whether Watson's performance improves in 2024 and how much the narrative around Berry's tenure will shift if the three-time Pro Bowler simply isn't a franchise QB anymore.

Calling the Watson trade a disaster would be premature because there's time for him to turn things around. But the Browns acquired him and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in the hope he was the missing piece for a Super Bowl contender.

The opposite could prove true in that the 28-year-old could put a firm ceiling on what the organization can achieve. Should that prove to be the case, it could be the defining moment of Berry's time as GM regardless of how many playoff appearances the Browns make.