Kevin Stefanski accomplishes rare feat by signing extension with Browns

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at FirstEnergy Stadium. Photo Credit: PHIL MASTURZO / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cleveland Browns on Wednesday announced that they have signed head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to contract extensions, and Stefanski broke a decades-long cycle of misery when he landed his new deal.

Stefanski was hired by the Browns in 2020. The upcoming season will be his fifth with the team, which is a rare accomplishment in Cleveland. Stefanski is the first coach to enter a fifth season with the Browns since the Bill Belichick era in the 1990s.

Stefanski inherited a 6-10 team when he took over in 2020 and immediately turned things around. The Browns went 11-5 in Stefanski’s first season and made their first postseason appearance since 1994. Stefanski was named AP NFL Coach of the Year that season. The 42-year-old won the award again last season when Cleveland went 11-6 and reached the postseason for a second time under Stefanski.

The 2023 season may have been Stefanski’s most impressive with the Browns, as the team overcame Deshaun Watson’s shoulder injury to make the playoffs despite using four different quarterbacks throughout the year.

The Browns had 11 different head coaches between Belichick and Stefanski.

Stefanski and Berry, who is 36, each had a year remaining on their previous deals with the Browns. The team did not specify how many additional years have been tacked onto Stefanski and Berry’s respective contracts.