Executive Vice President, Football Operations and General Manager, Andrew Berry (1.5.26)
Opening Statement:
“Today is obviously a tough day for the organization. It’s a tough day for me, personally. Largely because of the relationship, both professional and personal, built with Kevin (Stefanski) over the past six years. I think many of you have heard me say that Kevin’s like family. There really isn’t a better person. He’s the best of us. We all owe him a debt of gratitude and appreciation for a level of success that he brought the organization that really hadn’t been achieved since 2002 and that’s something that we’ll always remember. Coming into this season, we were realistic that we were a team and a roster in transition. And ultimately this decision is born from the fact that we ultimately felt like we did not see enough progress in areas that were controllable – independent of certain game outcomes. Everything that we do is with the idea of bringing a perennial winner to Cleveland and this decision falls in that bucket as well. There are many tough decisions that we have made that we’ll have to continue to make in order to fulfill that promise. And I know how hard it’s been for our fans this year. We have a great appreciation for their loyalty, their dedication to the team. I think back to our last home game against Pittsburgh (Steelers), they were such a huge, huge factor in that game. And then for them to support late in the year, big rival, had everything to play for, it’s quite the testament to show how much this team means to them and ultimately what we owe them because of that. So, in terms of next steps, really, our focus is on identifying and finding the leader and the partner to bring along this young team as well as the young players that we’re going to add in the next several months. So that work is going to be deliberate. It’s going to be immediate, right after we finish this press conference. So, with that, I’ll open it up for questions.”
You said you didn’t see progress in controllable areas. Are you specifically looking at quarterback, or can you specify a little bit more, maybe there?
“Yeah, there are a number of different areas, Chris (Easterling). You know, I think all head coaches get evaluated on whether it’s game strategy, going into the game, in-game decision making, certainly player development if you’re a young team. The QB is, you know, obviously a big part of it, but there are multiple areas, and some, quite frankly, I thought we did very well. Others, we didn’t see enough progress in.”
The impression is that the roster was sufficient to win. Do you feel that way? And when you’re talking about that lack of progress, is that because you believe that the players you brought in could’ve performed better?
“Yeah, Daryl (Ruiter), I think it goes back to what I touched a little bit in the opener. Again, we’re realistic. I think how you evaluate progress when you’re a team that’s in transition versus how you evaluate progress for a team that’s squarely in their contending window, it’s different. Like, I think that’s totally fair. How we would think about a season in 2020 or 2021 versus this year, it’s different. That’s absolutely true. Some of that is outcome driven, but not all of it. And you try and weigh that as best as you can and make the decision that you feel is best for the organization.”
Will you guys interview Jim Schwartz and maybe also Tommy Rees, anybody else in the building? If so, what do you see in those guys that would lead you to believe they could be could be good head coaches?
“I’ll talk about them individually, since you raised two coaches who are on our staff. So first with Jim – Jim’s an outstanding football coach. We have a lot of respect for him, a lot of appreciation for him, and he has certainly earned the right for consideration. But that’s something that we still have to discuss and obviously discuss with him. And Tommy, he’s a very talented young coordinator. He’s held in very high regard, not just in college football, but across the NFL. But again, those are discussions that we have to continue to have.”
Andrew, in terms of research, how important is it this time to maybe getting somebody with head coaching experience?
“You know, Joe (Reedy), we’ll be pretty open minded. I think there are a number of different archetypes of successful head coaches. I think about Kevin, I think it’s easy to forget now that he has, you know, two Coach of the Year awards on his mantle, that when he was interviewed first in 2019 and he didn’t get the job, and then again, I guess it was 2020 and he did. In both of those cycles, he had no head coaching experience, and we were the only team that interviewed him. And so, I think our responsibility is to search far and wide. There are good coaches out there. You know, we’ve just got to do our homework and find the right fit for us. We’ll have no preconceived notions as we go into the search.”
Do you have any, whether it’s regrets or whatever, just the way the offensive line, the lack of depth there and so on. And then you had rookies behind that line, quarterbacks, I guess two thoughts. One, maybe could have done a better job bringing the line together. And B, was it too soon to go to the rookies with that?
“You know, Terry (Pluto), it’s a good question. I’d say, you know, specifically to, let’s say, the offense. It’s no secret that’s where we’re going to invest most of our resources this off season. I think the reality of it is a year ago, when we decided to make the pivot that we did, you also realize that you’re not going to be able to accomplish everything at once for the roster. The offensive line, that’s a position group that I do imagine will have a fair amount of turnover as we go into 2026. But we also do feel like it was important this year and quite honestly going into next year to give young players snaps if we’re ultimately going to build the core and foundation that we need to win perennially.”
Andrew, some say that Kevin got dealt kinda a bad hand going into the year. Four quarterbacks start camp. How would you kind of reflect on that decision in hindsight?
“Yeah, I’d say honestly, most teams go into camp with four quarterbacks. That rep distribution may be a little bit different than what we had, but it’s the most important position in sports and it’s something that we felt strongly about investing in. I’d actually give a lot of credit to Kevin and the offensive staff in terms of how they brought along those two rookies and how they designed practice. But we believe in competition in every room on the roster, and quarterback’s no different.”
You talk about finding the right partner, what are the qualities that you think are most important in this next leader of the organization?
“Yeah. So I’d say, number one, like you hit it. Like it’s not just leadership by position, but I’d say leadership more globally. Because when you hire a head coach, it’s someone who has to be able to lead your players, lead your staff, lead the organization, lead through hardship and lead through crisis. And NFL years, they’re like dog years. They’re really difficult seasons. And that’ll be at the forefront because it’s first and foremost a leadership position. And then when I say partnership, head coach, GM relationship is a lot like a marriage. And you have to work side by side and fight back to back. And I think that’s really, really important because you have to be aligned in terms of how you’re positioning the team.”
Have you seen enough on Shedeur (Sanders)? Do you think he could be your starter next year or do you think you’re going to need somebody not on the roster?
“You know, Scott (Petrak), I think we saw a lot of progress with Shedeur this year. 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.”
Andrew, when you look at what Joe Flacco did in those four games here, and then he goes down to Cincinnati (Bengals) and has 300-yard games, what does that say about the wide receivers that you have in this run?
“Yeah, Jeff (Schudel), offensive football and particularly the passing game, it really does take all 11. I know that’s something that our coaches have said a lot over the past couple years because the offensive game is about precision. It’s never just on the quarterback. It’s never just one position group. Protection plays into it, route precision, route design. Obviously, we wish we had more success, you know, while Joe was under center here, we didn’t and it’s unfortunate.”
But just to follow up, so then what do you think of this group of wide receivers that are on this team?
“Yeah, listen, I think there’s a lot of work that we still need to do on the offense from a personnel standpoint. I think that we have a number of players that will continue to be pillars and are players that we’ll continue to develop and invest in. But the offense is going to have significant investment this offseason, Jeff.”
Going back to the defense for a second, I mean, Grant (Delpit) was talking about this a little bit. But obviously there’s not a lot of people that run this sort of system that Jim (Schwartz) runs and safeties have become really popular, all that stuff. I mean, how important is it for you kind of regardless of to keep the defense in this sort of system intact? Given the personnel you guys have added over the last three years.
“It’s a good question, Ashley (Bastock). I think that number one, I think you hit on a really good theme that one of the costs of turnover is that players can kind of get caught and transition between scheme to scheme. We do have a number of players who are maybe a little bit more defense-specific or scheme-specific, but I’d also say that we have a number of players that are pretty scheme-versatile. Ultimately, our thought will be, ‘Hey, let’s find the right head coach, let’s find the right leader.’ Because schemes, they really do come and go. But it is fair to say that we’re very pleased with where that side of the ball is. That group is intact, they’re under contract and we really do like the style of play.”
As you enter this transitional phase, how close do you feel like you are roster-wise, pillar-wise that you guys talked about to having success. These guys have talking in the locker room about wanting more wins, and being close to some of those. How close do you feel the organization is to having success?
“Yeah, Cam (Camryn Justice), I’ll never put a limit on our team in a given year. I think we see that on a yearly basis. I think you can look at how different the playoff field is, this year versus last year. I think we have, what, three teams that were picking in the top 10 last year that are either winning their division or going to be playing this upcoming weekend. So, every year really is unique. Now, that being said, very much more focused on process and doing the things that we need to do on a daily and weekly basis to get there. I wish I had a crystal ball and could say, ‘Hey, this is what it is,’ definitively. Do I feel like we’re closer than closer today than we were a year ago? I do. I hope we are a whole hell of a lot closer a year from now than we are today. And we have a lot of work to do. And that’s really where my focus is. That’s what I’m dedicated [to] in terms of doing.”
You spoke about GM and the head coach obviously being partners. And with eight wins in two years, a lot of times you see in pro sports house cleaning. How do you feel personally, professionally, about Kevin going and you staying?
“Yeah. Like I said, Nate (Ulrich), this is a very tough day. And I just say this, I own the results the past two years, Nate. I own it entirely. And ownership evaluates every one of us in the operation on annual basis. I’m no different.
And I am grateful that they feel like I’m the right person to lead us through this transition period. And that’s where all my focus, energy, and dedication is going to be.”
Unless you find a quarterback, it doesn’t matter who you hire as the head coach – it’s just been proven throughout the league, you need an elite quarterback to win and sustain winning. Do you have a plan going into this offseason to create the path to finding that player here?
“Yeah, Daryl (Ruiter), I’d say quarterback is the most important position in sports. We all know that. And part of the equation with quarterback is the evaluation part. Part of it is the development part as well. It’s the most important part. It’s the hardest position to play. It can take time. But look, that’s the focus. Solidifying that position, that’s the biggest thing that can lead to sustainable success. That’s priority number one. How we accomplish that with the combination of internal options, external veteran options, the draft; that remains to be seen. But priority number one is finding a leader for the organization. That’s what our focus is on in the short term.”
Where does Deshaun Watson stand as it pertains to this organization? And do you anticipate him being on the roster in 2026 as has been reported?
“Yeah, Daniel (Oyefusi), first I’ll say we’re very pleased with how Deshaun went through and attacked his rehab this past year, how he engaged with the team, what he did in the meeting rooms. Very pleased with the progress that he made in that regard. Look, I can never predict the future, but right now we do anticipate him being on the 2026 team. But we have a long way to go before we get to that point with any player.”
Andrew, with the number six overall pick in the draft, do you guys feel with what you’re seeing in the quarterback landscape and the class, if you choose to go that route, do you feel like you guys could acquire one of the top picks in this draft?
“Honestly, Mary Kay (Cabot), it’s too early to tell. I think you can think about what everyone felt like we knew about the quarterback landscape this time last year, about what we thought we knew about the draft. There’s a lot of work to be done with this entire draft class. And again, you want to do that in partnership with your new head coach as well. I wish I could give you a little bit more in that regard, but it’s a long process to get through the assessment of this year’s passers.”
And to follow up on that, because you are going to be committing so many resources to the offensive side of the ball and because you have so many young guys, might you trend more towards offensive minded coaches and maybe get a younger vibe or anything like that?
“No, not necessarily, Mary Kay. I think it’s more you’re looking for maybe a specific skill set, given where we are in our build, I think that’s fair. I don’t think that archetype is singular. I don’t think that means it just has to be a young person. I don’t think that just means it has to be an offensive coach. I mentioned a little bit earlier, the head coaching position, it’s so different than being a coordinator. And the head coach’s responsibility is to make sure that the offense is run and developed well, as opposed to necessarily having to be the person that directly does it.”
Jimmy Haslam indicated that you will lead the search but there will be others on the committee. Who will they be?
“Yeah, Tony, I won’t go into specific names. It’s a good question. But I will say we’re going to leverage the expertise across our football operations group. This is an organizational decision. It’s not just a singular person who does everything. You’re hiring for a position that’s going to have such a huge daily and yearly impact on the team. And we want to make sure that we leverage the expertise of many people in our operation as we go through the process.”
You mentioned that you knew coming into the season that this will be a year of transition. Season ends, and two-time Coach of the Year, is getting fired because you didn’t see enough progress. How do you sell that to candidates who are looking to know that they’ll have the necessary runway to do what they need to get done?
“Yeah, we understand where we are. And I mentioned, we all get evaluated on annual basis. I think the reality is, like we…in any head coach opening, every organization has their own challenges, their own constraints. They may be at different points with their roster’s lifestyle. We’ll be looking for something different than maybe some of the other openings have based on, you know, where they are as a team. And some good coaches will fit us, but they won’t fit the (Tennessee) Titans. Some will fit the (New York) Giants, and they won’t necessarily fit us. But we’re looking for the right leader and the right partner for our present situation. And I have a lot of confidence that we’ll be able to find that person.”
I know Paul (DePodesta) left during the season, but do you envision his role being filled at all? And are there any other potential front office changes?
“Do not envision Paul’s role being filled. I think we have a number of talented people who will absorb more responsibility. Paul’s a huge loss, but we have a lot of people who have gained a lot of really good experience and sparked people in that regard.”
What did Paul do? We didn’t get a chance to talk to you mid-season. So, can you tell us what he did?
“Yeah, Jeff, I think, you know, this is something that we’ve covered a lot over the past six years. You know, Paul, let me just say this – Paul is a longtime executive, former general manager, incredibly strong, sharp thought partner, huge in terms of strategic thinking and really built up the research and strategy group as well as player development. Paul did a lot for the organization over his time here and we’re grateful for the amount of time that he did spend with us.”
Jimmy really pushed back on the notion of like dysfunction within the organization, and he takes exception to that. I think on the outside looking in, there’s a split where you remain, Kevin is let go. It almost gives off this sense that maybe there is a divide between the two. So, I guess what can you say about your relationship with Kevin all the way until the end up until yesterday?
“So, Kevin’s like – I’ve said this a thousand times. Kevin’s like family. I’ll you a little bit insight because I know I’ve told you all how awesome of a person he is, but I’ve also told you like, sense of humor. I know you guys don’t always get a chance to see that, but you know, one quick story I’ll tell you. As I was driving back from the team flight last night, I was just thinking about, what could potentially happen and the decisions that we had to make. I was like, I really need to – my kids are eight, six and four, and I was just like I really need to tell my kids because every time they’re at the facility, he’s no longer like Coach Stefanski, coach of the Browns, but rather giving a Berry kid a piggyback ride or chasing them or tackling them, things like that. And I remember when I told my four-year-old daughter Eden, I was like, ‘Hey, there’s a chance that Coach Kevin, he may not be coaching the Browns anymore.’ And she looked at me and she goes, ‘Well, will he play with us still?’ And I share that story because like when you talk about relationship and partnership, that’s a lifelong connection for me and him. It goes beyond football. So, if you ask how was the relationship from the start to how it was today, he’s family.”
Andrew, were there other, any other changes to the coaching staff made today?
“There were not, Scott (Petrak).”
Will you require the new coach to keep anybody on the staff, Jim (Schwartz) or Tommy (Rees)?
“I’ll touch on what I said a little bit earlier. You know, ultimately that’ll be the head coach’s prerogative. Obviously, we’ll have a number of discussions about the existing staff, but that’ll be the head coach’s prerogative.”
I just remember John Dorsey years ago, he was a very experienced GM, sitting up there and saying about coaching search, at night he was driving home, telling himself “just don’t screw this up”. So how prepared do you feel to lead a coaching search, and is there anyone you’re going to be leaning on?
“Yeah, I’m going to leverage a lot of people – people with experience and people with, I’d say probably process expertise, both internally and externally. Being a head coach in the National Football League, it’s a really, really hard job. And I think it’s, at times, maybe a little bit like players, where you try and make the best decision that you can at the time with the information that you have. Bill Pulling used to say this, that other running for Congress or governing in Congress, position of head coach may be just as hard because of all the different challenges and things that you face. And so, what we’re going to do, we’re going to ensure that we have a process that is well defined, in terms of what we’re looking for and what the role will be specific to our organization. And we’ll make the best hire we can. I’m confident we’ll find a good coach. And then a big part of it, no different than quarterbacks, Daryl (Ruiter), is we’ve got to support that individual to make sure that they can have success as they lead us.”
How fast can you get to where your team is watchable again and just a better product? That’s on you now, basically. You’re there – so how do you handle that?
“Yeah, Terry (Pluto), I think it goes maybe a little bit to Cam’s (Justice) question, that I certainly would expect us to make progress over the next calendar year with who we hire and how we invest in the roster. In terms of our ultimate goals, I can’t put a firm timeline on that, but we certainly do owe the fans more than what we’ve given them in the past.”
What assets or things do you have that could maybe jet sweep that thing going forward?
“So, I look at it, how we’re positioned – we’re positioned with…we’ll have ample cap room at the beginning of the year. We have a defense that is elite, and everyone besides maybe one starter is under contract for multiple years. I look at some of the young core offensive players that we brought in this year, and I look at the fact that we’ll have 10 picks, two in the first round, and I think it’s probably going to be seven in the top 150. It gives us an incredible opportunity to continue to take a big step forward.”
When we talked to Myles Garrett here on Friday, he mentioned that more rebuilding is not going to be for him, and he needs some assurances that you guys are 100% committed to winning as fast and as soon as possible, and as thoroughly as possible. So, do you have any concern that he might try to ask to be traded again in the event that something like that happens? Can you state that you wouldn’t do that or where would you stand?
“So, I think the first thing I’d say, Mary Kay, is Myles and I have good and frequent dialogue. I think when people hear the term rebuild, and probably specifically here, really their thought is teardown, right? The idea that you’re trading away a number of prime players or veterans and you’re accumulating resources and things of that nature. When we think about where we are in our transition, it really is about building up the offense. Many of the trades that we’ve made are really about maybe players who won’t be a part of the future core, and getting future value for when we’re in our prime window with this roster. If we do trade a productive veteran in his prime, it’s probably more in lines of what we did with Greg Newsome, where we were able to acquire Tyson Campbell, a player that we thought was an excellent scheme fit, he’s in his prime and under contract for three years. It would be more of a strategic decision like that. So, our focus is on continuing to build. Winning is always the focus, but we also want to make sure that we take the proper steps to ensure that, ‘Hey, we don’t have these up and down seasons, but that we can sustain it.’”
With the rookie class being so productive for you guys this season, amid the changes, do you have an approach to ensure that any changes like this aren’t detrimental to their continued growth and their development as you look for even more production from them next season?
“It’s a great question, Cam. That’s certainly top of mind. Young players, they don’t always have linear progress. I wish they did, it’d make it a lot easier for all of us. But that will certainly be a focus as we get to meet the candidate pool over the next several weeks.”
So, this is your first coaching search since you’ve been here. Would you say this is the most important decision of your career as a front office guy?
“I’d say this, Jeff (Schudel), I think we have a lot of important decisions coming up. You know, I think probably the two most important decisions that can be made by an organization are head coach and quarterback. So, whichever order you want to put it in, I think that’s fair. But look, my focus – I’m 100% dedicated, in terms of finding the right person that continues to lead our franchise forward.”
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