How Ravens and Steelers place crushing amount of pressure on Browns head coach search

Ravens and Steelers are the golden standard for front offices when searching for head coaches, and a far cry from what the Browns usually do.

Cleveland Browns General Manager Andrew Berry, left, and owner Jimmy Haslam observe from the sideline during an NFL football practice at the team's training facility, Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Berea, Ohio. Browns 8 | Jeff Lange via Imagn Content Services, LLC

As we enter week three since the Cleveland Browns fired Kevin Stefanski, the team is still sorting through the candidates in search of a new head coach.

At the same time, it’s impossible not to feel the almost unbearable weight of having to perform this task at the worst possible time.

The Browns are once again shuffling the deck in search of their 13th head coach since the franchise sprung back to life in 1999 -- permanent or interim-- while simultaneously, the two teams that apparently can never go wrong are also on the lookout for new head coaches. Those teams, both division rivals, inadvertently place a tremendous amount of pressure on Cleveland’s front office.

The Baltimore Ravens parted ways with John Harbaugh one day after the Browns dismissed Stefanski, closing an 18-year tenure that included six division titles, 12 playoff appearances, four AFC Championship games, just three losing seasons and a win in Super Bowl XLVII.

Harbaugh succeeded Brian Billick, who led the Ravens for nine years that included two division titles, four playoff appearances, a win in Super Bowl XXXV, and only three losing seasons. That’s two Super Bowl winning head coaches in 27 years.

The Pittsburgh Steelers saw Mike Tomlin say goodbye after 19 years at the helm, having been hired in 2007. During his tenure, Tomlin delivered eight division titles, 13 playoff appearances, three AFC Championship games, and two Super bowls, with a victory in edition XLIII. All this with zero losing seasons.

Tomlin took over when Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher retired after 15 seasons with the team, during which time he led Pittsburgh to eight division titles, 10 playoff appearances, six AFC Championship games, and two Super Bowls, including a win in the XL edition. Cowher only had three losing seasons in this time.  Cowher’s predecessor, Chuck Noll, was even more impressive, coaching the Steelers for 23 years that included nine division titles, seven AFC Championship games, and four Super Bowl victories against just seven losing seasons. That’s three Super Bowl winning coaches over 57 years.

This makes Ravens and Steelers a model of consistency: the golden standard for front offices when searching for head coaches, and a far cry from what the Browns usually do. Cleveland has just four winning seasons, zero division titles, two playoff appearances and one zero win campaign since 1999.

How do they do it? How do they install a winning culture attractive to free agents and assistant coaches? How do their front offices build rosters without high first-round picks year after year? How do new players buy into the work ethic, and how do they maintain it over time, leading to accountability? How do you get the Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalus, Ed Reeds, Alan Fanecas, Marshal Yandas and T.J. Watts?

Sure, Ravens and Steelers also strike out on draft day and trades. Just not as spectacularly or frequently as the Browns.

Cleveland has struck gold with guys like Joe Thomas, Denzel Ward and Myles Garrett, but they are few and far apart, and the constant coaching changes hinders any attempt at long-term stability within the club. Stefanski’s six years are the most by any head coach in charge of the Browns since Sam Rutigliano led Cleveland midway into his seventh season, from 1978 to 1983.

What will the 2026 head coaching hires look like cdown the road for Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh ?

This is what really places a ton of pressure on general manager Andrew Berry and principal owner Jimmy Haslam to get it right this time. Basically, three fourth’s of the AFC North is hitting the reset button at the same time. The Browns are familiar with the path back to square one, but the Ravens and Steelers are not.

So, what will these three teams look like in three to five years? Will Ravens and Steelers still be stacking up victories and division titles under the same head coaches hired this year? Will the Browns win their first division crown since 1989 under their next head coach, or will Cleveland revert to its old ways and find themselves under yet another rebuild.

Can the Browns sell themselves as a more attractive option to Baltimore or Pittsburgh for interested candidates?

History is stacked against Cleveland, but nothing is etched in stone. The only way to change the Browns’ narrative is for Berry and Haslam to outperform the Ravens and Steelers while all three are standing still at the starting line. Will they find their Harbaugh/Tomlin?

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