WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (92.3 The Fan) – Browns managing and principal partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam would not be painted into a corner Monday afternoon.
Pressed multiple times about their expectations for the upcoming season, the Haslams refused to say it was do or die, make or break, playoffs or bust for head coach Kevin Stefanski and executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry.
“I’m not going to go there, I’m not going to,” Jimmy Haslam said. “That’s not fair to anybody to do. It could be extremely extenuating circumstances. I just say we’re all excited about this year.”
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The Browns are coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons that saw the team follow up an 11-5 and divisional round exit in 2020 with 8-9 and 7-10 finishes.
So what will it take for Stefanski or Berry to be guaranteed a fifth year? The Haslams are keeping that between them.
“I’m not saying the expectations aren’t high, I’m just not going to draw a line for you guys what they are,” Jimmy Haslam said.
The Haslams are quite satisfied with whatever bar Stefanski and Berry have set for themselves.
“They have incredibly high expectations for themselves and I’m comfortable with their expectations themselves,” Jimmy Haslam said. “I really am. I mean, these guys are winners. They’ve been winners before. They’ve done well in everything they’ve done. They expect to do well. Our assistant coaches expect to do well. Our players expect to do well. We’ll leave it at that.”
After another offseason of roster adjustment that saw Berry trade for receiver Elijah Moore and defensive end Za’Darius Smith plus sign two-time Super Bowl champion safety Juan Thornhill and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, the roster appears to be the best the team has had in decades.
Their belief in Stefanski’s ability to maximize that talent is unwavering.
“I think he’s a good coach,” Jimmy Haslam said. “I mean, he proved it in the first year, did a tremendous job. Second year we had some bumps and bruises with Baker and his injury, etc. And last year was just, it was difficult.
“We’re in a much better position just overall than we were last year.”
As the last two seasons have proved, anything can happen – good or bad – which is why the Haslams will not speak in absolutes when it comes to what the 2023 season must produce for them to stay the course.
“I think it's really dangerous to say now or never,” Jimmy 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 Paul 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.”