CLEVELAND — The Jimmy Haslam era will reach to 12 years in October of this year.
For the better part of that first decade, the team toiled at the bottom of the NFL, all but cementing the team's spot as the league doormat and laughing stock. Since the arrival of GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski, the organization has made major strides in turning that perception around in a small time frame.
Fresh off of their clean sweep of 2023-24 regular season awards (head coach of the year, assistant coach of the year, defensive player of the year, comeback player of the year), today's release of the NFLPA team report cards show much is left to be done.
Players for each NFL team ranked their respective teams based on 11 categories ranging from how the team treats players' families to how they feel team ownership supports the players
Here is how the Browns scored in each category:
- Treatment of families: D-
- Food/Cafeteria: C+
- Nutritionist/Dietician: C+
- Locker room: D+
- Training room: C+
- Training staff: B-
- Weight room: D
- Strength coaches: B+
- Team travel: D
- Head coach: B-
- Ownership: B
Here is how each category got to the grades earned above:
Treatment of families
The Browns are among 12 other teams that do not provide a family room at the stadium for the families of players, nor do they provide a daycare service.
Players listed two specific issues with how the team handled players' families on game day:
- Teams required families to meet-up in an outdoor tent even during cold weather days
- Early season access to family members after a player was carted to locker room with an injury was not allowed by the team
Food/Cafeteria
Based on ratings compared to all other teams, the Browns ranked 19th in both food taste and freshness.
Nutritionist/Dietician
82% of players reported feeling like they were able to get a personalized nutrition plan, which ranked 19th overall in the league.
Locker room
39% of players reported that the locker room is too small, ranking the team near the bottom of the league at 27th overall. 29% of players feel like they don't have enough room in their individual lockers, also ranking the team near the bottom at 26th overall.
Training room
The team ranked in the bottom half of the league based on player rankings of the training room in the following categories:
- Number of full-time trainers
- Number of full-time physical therapists
- Hot tub space
- Cold tub space
Training staff
Player ranked the availability of one-on-one treatment towards the bottom of the league (25th overall) while the team scored near the middle of the pack (18th overall) in terms of the players feeling that the training staff contributes to their success.
Weight room
It may be no coincidence that Kevin Stefanski announced the team's plans to build a new weight room for players in Berea after seeing the marks given to the team in this category.
Strength coaches
A majority of players felt like they had individualized plans and that the staff contributed to their success.
Team travel
Another area of improvement needed for the Browns as only 67% of players felt like they were comfortable or had enough personal space on team flights. The Browns are also one of only seven teams to require players to have a roommate on the night before games.
Head coach
This is the category that may leave most who observe the team from the outside looking in the most puzzled. Given the close-knit atmosphere that we observed with the team throughout their magical playoff run with QB Joe Flacco and Kevin Stefanski's Head Coach of the Year honors, one might assume he would score near the top of the list.
However only 70% of players say Stefanski is efficient with their time, which ranks 29th out of 32 head coaches. He also ranked 23rd out of 32 when it comes to the players feeling like he is willing to listen to the locker room.
Stefanski's overall ranking of B- would suggest that while there are gripes about his style as head coach from the player's perspective, none of those gripes appear to be a hinderance to his leadership or ability to lead.
Ownership
The NFLPA cites that players feel owner Jimmy Haslam is willing to invest and improve the team facilities.
To see the full report, visit the NFLPA's website HERE.