Browns fire Shurmur, Heckert

BEREA, Ohio, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Cleveland Browns Coach Pat Shurmur and General Manager Tom Heckert were relieved of their duties Monday, the NFL team announced.

The Browns were beaten 24-10 Sunday by the Pittsburgh Steelers and wound up the 2012 season 5-11. Only three AFC teams -- the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders -- had worse records.

Heckert had been general manager of the Browns since January 2010 and Shurmur took over as the team's coach in 2011. The team was a combined 9-23 the last two seasons.

"We felt that these moves were in the best interests of the Cleveland Browns and our future," said Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. "I enjoyed getting to know Tom and Pat over the past several months and want to thank them, not just for their contributions to the Browns, but also the insight they were able to provide. They are both fine men and hope they have the best of success as they move forward with their careers."

Shurmur issued a statement that said he was proud of the Browns' players "who I felt made tremendous strides and helped make the Cleveland Browns relevant again."

The statement later stated, "This group of players will achieve success soon and there will be a part of me that will feel very good when that happens."