The Cleveland Browns have arguably made more significant changes than any team in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. That is to be expected – and deservedly welcomed – after they won just eight games over the past two years combined.
The organization certainly made those moves with a major improvement in mind. However, many observers don’t see them paying off that way, at least not yet.
Oddsmakers also have a discouraging outlook for the Browns in 2026. Two major sportsbooks have Cleveland’s over/under for wins set at 5.5, which would result in another losing season.
Analyst Earl D. Mauldin is challenging doubters on the Browns’ win total, saying that with a new head coach and better players, eight victories should be well within reach.
“We got five wins out of all of that last year. With Todd Monken, better coaches in the building, a new philosophy, a new system, improved talent, why is it that people are finding it hard to believe that the Browns can win eight games? Why is it hard for people to believe that our new head coach can be worth three more wins than what we got last year?” Mauldin said.
Mauldin may be rightfully optimistic about what Monken’s arrival can do for the franchise, based on the encouraging messages coming out of minicamps and OTAs. However, it should be noted that he is a first-time NFL head coach, and one of the oldest in history, so it won’t be known if he’s truly up to the task until the games are played.
Former head coach Kevin Stefanski had his faults, and his time may have run its course, but he was a two-time NFL Coach of the Year who led the Browns to multiple playoff appearances after they had gone almost two decades without one. In addition, highly regarded coordinator Jim Schwartz is no longer on the staff after creating one of the NFL’s best defenses over the past three seasons.
The Browns also traded away one of the best players in the league in Myles Garrett, and while there is some thought that the move may be addition by subtraction, helped by the arrival of Jared Verse, it is a franchise-altering change. Cleveland also has one of the worst quarterback situations in the game, with Monken trying to decide between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders as its starter.
Cleveland may be able to take advantage of one of the easier projected schedules in the league, but a lot has to go just right for the Browns to improve by three games or more in 2026.
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