Are Kevin Stefanski, Andrew Berry still safe despite Browns' woeful record?

The futures of Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry remain up in the air with the 3-10 team finishing what will become a fourth losing season in five years.

Nevertheless, Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand thinks Cleveland fans who are hoping Stefanski and/or Berry will be shown the door in January may be disappointed. 

Browns "had a plan" regarding Kevin Stefanski, Andrew Berry before season

"They had a plan," Grossi said about the Browns during a Wednesday morning appearance on ESPN Cleveland. "Although they've lost more than they expected, the plan all along was to develop [young players]...and suffer the losses and reboot for next year. That could very well be the plan." 

This past spring, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam publicly backed both Stefanski and Berry. Since that time, multiple rookie players drafted by Berry have become key contributors for Cleveland. Additionally, first-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders is coming off the best start of his young career. Thus, there's hope regarding what Sanders could be by the time Week 18 wraps up. 

Kevin Stefanski still "well-regarded" around the NFL

"Kevin Stefanski isn't necessarily to blame for the Browns' quarterback mess, but his record the past two seasons is 6-24, and a turnaround doesn't seem imminent," ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote for an article published on Wednesday. "A couple of people have suggested to me that Stefanski would be of interest to other teams if the Browns moved on, as he's well-regarded around the league."

In that same piece, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler added that "one thing that helps Stefanski's case is that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam finally found a dependable infrastructure with Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry, and the two-year struggle can be directly tied to the failed Deshaun Watson experiment." For what it's worth, Haslam has said that he should be held "accountable" for the Browns acquiring Watson and signing the quarterback to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. 

For now, Stefanski will try to improve his record when the Sanders-led Browns play at the Chicago Bears (9-4) on Sunday. As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Cleveland as a 7.5-point underdog for that game.