NFL: Cleveland Browns fire head coach Kevin Stefanski on Black Monday

The Cleveland Browns have sacked head coach Kevin Stefanski after finishing bottom of the AFC North for the second consecutive season.

Under Stefanski, who joined the Browns in 2020 and led them to two play-off appearances, the team finished the 2025 season with a disappointing 5-12 record.

The move comes on ‘Black Monday’ – the day after the end of the regular season when NFL teams traditionally make major coaching changes.

Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam called Stefanski “a good football coach and an even better person” but said “a change at the head coaching position is necessary”.

Stefanski guided the Browns to their first play-off appearance since 2002 and a first post-season win in 26 years during his debut season.

He won the NFL Coach of the Year award in both 2020 and 2023, joining Forrest Gregg as the only Browns coaches to claim the honour.

“I leave with an immense sense of gratitude,” Stefanski, who finished with a 45-56 record over six seasons, said.

“When I arrived in January of 2020, this organisation, this community and Browns fans embraced me and my family with open arms. I cannot express properly in words how good we have been treated.”

The Browns confirmed Andrew Berry, who was hired in 2020 alongside Stefanski, will remain as general manager.

Stefanski is the second NFL head coach to be fired following the end of the season after the Atlanta Falcons dismissed Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday night.

The Falcons went back-to-back seasons with an 8-9 record under Morris, who joined in 2024, and failed to reach the play-offs during Fontenot’s five-year stint.