List of Cleveland Browns head coaches

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football franchise based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are a member of the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team began playing in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and joined the NFL as part of the AAFC–NFL merger in 1950.[1] The team played their home games at Cleveland Stadium from 1946 to 1995 before moving to Cleveland Browns Stadium, where they have played since 1999.[2] The Browns did not play from 1996 to 1998 when the team's owner, Art Modell, moved the team to Baltimore, Maryland and formed the Baltimore Ravens. The team was reactivated under new ownership in Cleveland in 1999.[3] The Browns are currently owned by Jimmy Haslam III.[4]

The Browns have played their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium since 1999.

There have been 18 non-interim head coaches for the Browns franchise. Their first head coach was Paul Brown, who coached for 17 complete seasons.[5] Brown is also the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular season games coached (214), the most regular season game wins (158), the most playoffs games coached (14), and the most playoff game wins (9). Brown is the only Browns head coach to win an AAFC championship, winning four. Brown and Blanton Collier have led the Browns to NFL championships. Brown won the Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year three times, the United Press International (UPI) NFL Coach of the Year once,[6] and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach.[7] Five coaches have won Coach of the Year awards: Brown (1949, 1951, 1953, 1957), Forrest Gregg (1976), Sam Rutigliano (1979, 1980), Marty Schottenheimer (1986), and Kevin Stefanski (2020, 2023).

Since their reactivation in 1999, the Browns have had significant turnover at the head coaching position. Ten men have coached the Browns since 1999, and only two have reached the postseason: Butch Davis (2002) and Stefanski (2020 and 2023).

Key

#Number of coaches[N 1]
GCGames coached
WWins
LLosses
TTies
Win%Winning percentage
00Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach
00Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
00*Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the Browns

Coaches

Note: Statistics are accurate through the 2023 season.
#[8]ImageNameTerm[N 2]Regular seasonPlayoffsAchievementsRef.
GCWLTWin%GCWLWin%
1 Paul Brown 19461962214158488.7671495.643Four AAFC championships (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949)[9]
Three NFL championships (1950, 1954, 1955)[10]
Seven NFL Conference championships (1950–55, 1957)

1949, 1951, and 1953 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year[11]
1957 UPI NFL Coach of the Year[6]

[5][7]
2Blanton Collier*1963197011276342.691734.429NFL Champion in 1964
Four Eastern conference champions (1964, 1965, 1968, 1969)
Three Century Division Champions (1967,1968, 1969)
[12]
3Nick Skorich197119745630242.556202.000AFC Central Division Champions 1971[13]
4Forrest Gregg 197519774118230.4391976 Associated Press (AP) NFL Coach of the Year[14][15]
Dick Modzelewski*[N 3]19771010.000[16]
5 Sam Rutigliano*197819849747500.485202.0001979 and 1980 UPI NFL Coach of the Year[6]
AFC Central Division Champions 1980
[17]
6 Marty Schottenheimer[N 4]198419887144270.620624.3331986 UPI NFL Coach of the Year[6]
Three AFC Central Division Champions (1985, 1986 and 1987)
[18]
7 Bud Carson*198919902511131.458211.500AFC Central Division Champions 1989[19]
Jim Shofner*[N 5]19907160.143[20]
8 Bill Belichick199119958036440.450211.500[21]
[N 6]19961998
9Chris Palmer*19992000325270.156[22]
10 Butch Davis*200120045924350.407101.000[23]
Terry Robiskie[N 7]20045140.200[24]
11 Romeo Crennel200520086424400.375[25]
12 Eric Mangini200920103210220.313[26]
13 Pat Shurmur20112012329230.281[27]
14 Rob Chudzinski*2013164120.250[28]
15 Mike Pettine*201420153210220.313[29]
16 Hue Jackson20162018403361.088[30]
Gregg Williams[N 8]20188530.625[31]
17 Freddie Kitchens*2019166100.375[32]
18 Kevin Stefanski*[N 9]2020–present6737300.552312.3332020 and 2023 AP NFL Coach of the Year[33][34]

Footnotes

Notes

General
  • "History: All-Time Head Coaches". Cleveland Browns. NFL Enterprises LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  • "Cleveland Browns Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
Specific

References