Kevin Stefanski is 26-24 in three seasons as the Browns’ head coach with one playoff appearance, none the past two seasons. He seemingly is under pressure to win this season.
But the only people who know for sure aren’t saying.
Reporters pressed Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam several times Monday about whether this is a do-or-die, make-or-break, playoffs-or-bust season for Stefanski and General Manager Andrew Berry.
“I’m not going to go there; I’m not going to,” Jimmy Haslam said, via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “That’s not fair to anybody to do. It could be extremely extenuating circumstances. I just say we’re all excited about this year.”
The Haslams have not shown much patience since taking over in the middle of the 2012 season, employing six full-time head coaches in 11 seasons.
The Browns are coming off 8-9 and 7-10 finishes, but Jimmy Haslam said he wouldn’t “draw a line” for the public about what ownership’s expectations are. Haslam did call Stefanski and Berry “winners.”
“I think it’s really dangerous to say now or never,” Haslam said. “The NFL is unbelievably competitive and our division -- I mean, just Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, us -- most people think is the toughest division. So do we feel the best about our roster that we have going into this year? Do I think Andrew and [chief strategy officer] Paul [DePodesta] and Kevin have done a great job? We do. Are we excited about this year? Yes. To say it’s now or never, I think it’d be grossly unfair.”