Does he want AB/KS making that call? If he keeps them in place and the team does not improve in 26. Then he could have a quarterback they selected. And then decide to have a new regime putting them in a position with qbs they don't like.
Because of that scenario he may decide to make a change after this year.
That may be true. As you said it's pretty much a guessing game. I think much of that decision will rest with who it was making a huge push to land watson. Someone initiated and pushed for that move. While I agree nobody most likely applied pressure in the opposite direction to any degree, someone was so determined to land him they made s second trip to sign him after he had already said Cleveland was off the list. In doing so they gave an arm and a leg to get that deal done.
I think most would agree at least in large part this is what has culminated since that trade to be a major factor in where they find themselves now.
I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that question for sure.
Haslam may have been the one making that push and will be looking for a fall guy. He may think that even with the constraints they faced after making this trade the results should still have been better in maintaining a competitive roster from Berry. It may have been Berry making that push and Haslam will hold him responsible. It may be both Berry and Haslam feel Stefanski should be producing better results with the roster he has been given.
Or, Haslam may realize by him insisting on and giving up so much for watson it was he who created this situation and give this FO and HC a chance to rebuild.
One thing is pretty much a certainty. It's almost unheard of to get a new GM who would retain the current HC. If in fact Haslam places the majority of the watson deal on Berry, it's a very rare case where a new GM doesn't insist on his own HC. And if you get a new GM who will keep the existing HC, I doubt that would be a highly regarded candidate.
Time will tell I suppose.