Insider Believes Browns’ Success Hinges On Two Positions

For years, the Cleveland Browns have struggled to get much production from their quarterbacks. They have failed to find the right guy, and Kevin Stefanski, despite being lauded as an offensive mind, didn’t do much to develop the guys he had in the building.

That’s why, after watching the first day of a crazy NFL playoff slate, team insider Tony Grossi believes the Browns need to focus on getting two things right.

He thinks it’s not about the GM, but about the head coach and the quarterback:

“Every team that advances in the NFL playoffs has two things in common. Coach. Quarterback. It’s not about GMs,” Grossi posted on X.

Every team that advances in the NFL playoffs has two things in common.
Coach.
Quarterback.
It’s not about GMs.

— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) January 11, 2026

That makes sense to a degree, but one may argue that the general manager is as important, if not more, because he’s the one in charge of finding both the head coach and the quarterback. And, truth be told, Andrew Berry has left plenty to be desired more often than not.

Kevin Stefanski certainly deserved plenty of blame for the state of the team, but he did what he could with the hand he was given. Berry has failed at evaluating his quarterbacks, and reports stated that Stefanski wasn’t even on board with trading for Deshaun Watson.

At the end of the day, Berry is the one pulling the strings and fielding the team. He’s the one who failed to draft starters in most of the drafts, and the one who can’t find a WR1.

Of course, this is still a quarterback’s game, and once you find the right guy, it’s all much easier. The Browns haven’t found the right guy, and their franchise quarterback may not even be in the league yet. We’ve also seen how hiring the right guy, such as Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson, has helped turn a franchise around in the blink of an eye.

That being said, it’s hard to give Berry the benefit of the doubt, given the results in five out of six years at the helm.

And even though this rookie class was stellar, he’s still got plenty of catching up to do.