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After a six-season run during which he accumulated a 44-56 record, Kevin Stefanski was fired on Monday by the Cleveland Browns. 

"We appreciate all [Stefanski's] hard work and dedication to our organization but our results over the last two seasons have not been satisfactory, and we believe a change at the head coaching position is necessary," Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam wrote in a statement.

Stefanski was a two-time Coach of the Year with the Browns, having won 11 games in both 2020 and 2023. In 2020 he led the team to its first playoff appearance in 18 years and its first playoff win in 23 years. In 2023 the Browns made the playoffs again but lost in the first round. But the team went just 3-14 and 5-12 over the last two seasons, leading the Haslams and general manager Andrew Berry to make a change.

Berry will remain in his post as general manager and lead the search for Stefanski's replacement. Here are some candidates the Browns could look at, with most of them being first-time head coaches, as CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones reports that the search will likely yield another first-time coach.

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Jesse Minter (Chargers DC)

Minter is arguably the top candidate on the market this offseason so it may be difficult for Cleveland to land him given its generally unstable (in terms of process) ownership and management situation, but that doesn't mean the Browns shouldn't try. Minter is one of the premier defensive schemers in the league and he could figure out the best way to utilize Myles Garrett, who will be coming off a Defensive Player of the Year season. Like the other defensive-minded coaches on this list, Minter would have to have a good plan for what he's going to do at offensive coordinator, though it remains to be seen what kind of talent he'd be working with on that side of the ball, and whether the Browns will be pursuing an upgrade at quarterback. 

Matt Burke (Texans DC)

Burke spent the first five years of his NFL career working under current Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, then worked with him again for a couple years in Philadelphia. Schwartz turned his unit into one of the best in football over the last few years, so the Browns could be tempted to keep the good times rolling on that side of the ball by going with a younger version of the coach who has been coordinating a top unit. He may even want to keep Schwartz as the DC if he comes aboard. Burke calls the plays for the Texans' defense despite the presence of DeMeco Ryans as head coach, and we've seen that he can call a top defense himself. 

Jeff Hafley (Packers DC)

Hafley, like Minter and Burke, is considered one of the top defensive minds in the sport. His Green Bay defenses have been excellent when healthy and he is considered a rising star in the league. He's going to be in the mix for multiple jobs this cycle and might not consider the Cleveland job to be the most desirable because of the aforementioned issues, but if the Browns could land him, they could maintain their excellent defense. He'd have to have a strong plan at offensive coordinator, as mentioned for Minter, and that's not just a secondary consideration when it comes to hiring defensive-minded head coaches -- it's really important. Hafley would be a hire in the mold of the Seahawks' Mike Macdonald, and we've seen that Seattle needed a new OC to really take off this season. Speaking of that new OC...

Klint Kubiak (Seahawks OC)

The Browns have hired an offensive-minded head coach each of the last three times they've been in position to hire a new one, and Kubiak is considered one of the top offensive candidates this cycle. His offense puts quarterbacks in position to succeed, as we've seen this year with Sam Darnold, and any connection to the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay-style offense is always desirable in head-coaching searches, as we have seen over the last decade or so. Kubiak would be a hire in the mold of Stefanski (who had previously been the Vikings' quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator before he headed to Cleveland), but the Browns have shown an affinity for bringing in offensive coordinators from top offenses before.

Mike McCarthy (Former Cowboys and Packers HC)

The lone retread on this list, McCarthy interviewed for the Browns job back in 2020 before ultimately landing in Dallas. He's had a lot of regular season success and generally tends to get the best out of his quarterbacks, though he's had the good fortune of coaching Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott during his tenures in Green Bay and Dallas, and he wouldn't be walking into a similar situation in Cleveland. McCarthy has his faults but he is respected around the league and would give the Browns an air of professionalism, though he may also give them a defined ceiling considering his limitations.