The Cleveland Browns have fired head coach Kevin Stefanski after six seasons with the team, the team announced Monday.
The Browns finished the 2025 season 5-12 after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 20-18 in the season finale.
Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who started seven games for the Browns, was 3-4 as a starter.
It was a mixed bag for the fifth round selection. Sanders finished the season with 1400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. At times, he showed promise, and at others, he struggled to protect the football.
On Monday, Sanders was asked whether he felt he had done enough to be the starter next season.
“I think I did what I was able to do, and I definitely grew from a lot of things, and I got experience now,” he said. “So, I’m always the same, confidence-wise, I’m there. But like, that’s not in my hands. Like, that’s not my decision. I can’t speak on what other people feel.”
Going forward, if Sanders is in Cleveland, the Browns will have a new coach; according to Sanders, his focus is on himself and becoming a better player.
“I can just focus on me,” Sanders said. “I can just focus on what I can do and getting better, and the players and the teammates that we got. When it comes to those grown-up decisions, that’s not me.”
Browns GM Andrew Berry, who Cleveland will retain, says the team’s quarterback in 2026 could be the current crop, Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel, or Sanders, or it could be a player outside the organization.
“I think we saw a lot of progress with Shedeur this year,” Berry said. “I think that’s both mentally, physically, playing the position. He’s still very much a work in progress, like many rookie quarterbacks are. But I think we saw some really good things in terms of his playmaking, his accuracy, his ability to extend them with his feet. And I think I’d also give him credit, as well as our offensive staff, for bringing him along in terms of his pocket management, his situational awareness, and things of that nature. Now that all being said, we’re going to do our work on the quarterback market. It’s too important of a position and it’s something that has to be solidified. I can’t sit here and tell you today, you know, whether the solution for or the starter in 2026 is internal or external. But it’s something that we’re going to work through over the next several weeks. And quite honestly, the new head coach will also have a lot of input into that as well.”
The Browns will have the number six pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Do they look to improve the pieces around Sanders, Watson, or Gabriel, or do they try to grab their franchise quarterback? That’s something they have to decide.
Regarding Sanders, the jury is still out on whether he can be the guy in Cleveland, but one thing he has proven is that he is an NFL quarterback, which is half the battle.
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