The Cleveland Browns had a tumultuous 2025, going 5-12, and costing then-head coach Kevin Stefanski his job. Since making the playoffs in 2023, the team has won a combined eight games in the past two years, leading to a short supply of optimism for most fans. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for 92.3 The Fan’s Earl Mauldin.
In a recent clip about the Browns’ newly released 2026 schedule, Mauldin believes that Cleveland’s current roster and new coach can help the team increase its win total.
In the clip, Mauldin tells co-host Spencer German that he thinks the team’s 2025 and 2026 draft classes, the development of free agents, and the new coaching staff will benefit the team significantly compared to last year.
“I find it hard to believe that with all of this, the Cleveland Browns can’t win at least 4 more games,” said Mauldin.
“I find it hard to believe that with all of this, the Cleveland Browns can’t win at least 4 more games”
🚨 @earldapearl_216 and @Spencito_ on the #Browns projected win total following the schedule release pic.twitter.com/w00n8ar4Gy
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) May 16, 2026
The media personality continued to say that first-time head coaches can find instant success and that a horrific record from the year before doesn’t necessarily mean it will be repeated the following year.
Just glancing at the Browns’ very recent past, one can see where Mauldin has a point. In 2019, head coach Freddie Kitchens went 6-10 and was fired after only one season. Stefanski was hired in 2020 and promptly led the franchise to its first playoff appearance since 2002. Furthermore, the Browns won their first playoff game that year for the first time since 1994.
If one were looking at the Browns’ history since returning to the NFL in 1999, however, Mauldin is off-base. Since that year, Cleveland has had 13 head coaches, including interim coaches and new coach Todd Monken. A few of those coaches have seen decent increases in win total in their first year on the job, highlighted by Butch Davis’ four-win improvement in 2001 and the Hue Jackson/Gregg Williams collective’s seven-win improvement in 2018.
Unfortunately, most of the coaches that were hired either saw very modest 1-3 win improvements or went backward and lost more games than the year before. Winning four more games in 2026 would be a great improvement for the Browns and give fans a glimmer of hope for 2027.
Yet, the uncertainty of the quarterback, offensive line, and receiver positions suggests that the Browns will be in for another long season.
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