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Latest On Browns, George Paton

January 16th, 2020 at 4:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

4:20pm: Paton may not be as interested in the position as Berry or Ossenfort. The experienced exec does not, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, have an interview scheduled with the Browns (Twitter link). Paton has been especially selective over the years, so further deliberation would not exactly be a surprise.

2:26pm: The Browns’ GM search will include an interview will include a meeting with George Paton. The Vikings’ assistant GM will meet with the Browns this weekend, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Paton joins Eagles executive Andrew Berry and Patriots front office staffer Monti Ossenfort as candidates. A few more names have been mentioned in this search, but the Browns’ interview itinerary has formed.

In the GM mix for years, Paton would seemingly be a natural fit for a team that just hired longtime Vikings assistant Kevin Stefanski. A career-long Vikings coach, Stefanski has worked with Paton for 13 years. Paton has been with the Vikings since 2007 and previously worked with current boss Rick Spielman in Miami and Chicago.

Paton was in the mix for the 49ers job that went to John Lynch three years ago but turned down an opportunity to interview with the Jets last year. He did the same when John Dorsey‘s ouster created a Chiefs GM vacancy in 2017. The Browns prioritized hiring their head coach first this time around, with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta overseeing the coaching search that produced Stefanski after Dorsey ran last year’s process.

Panthers Still Interested In Andrew Berry

January 16th, 2020 at 1:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers are still interested in speaking with Eagles VP of Football Operations Andrew Berry for their Executive VP of Football Operations role, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets. However, the Panthers would likely have to offer Berry control over the roster in order for the Eagles to grant permission.

Earlier this week, the Eagles rejected the Panthers’ request to chat with Berry, citing the roster control issue. At present, the Panthers’ roster is controlled by GM Marty Hurney.

The Panthers may or may not want to stick with Hurney as their front office leader for the 2020 offseason, but Berry’s candidacy for this particular job could wind up being moot. On Friday, Berry will interview for the Browns’ GM vacancy. The Eagles can’t prevent him from accepting an offer there and he could be off the table for the Panthers in a matter of days.

Browns To Interview Andrew Berry

January 16th, 2020 at 1:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Andrew Berry, the Eagles’ VP of football operations, will interview for the Browns GM job on Friday, Jim Trotter of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.Patriots college scouting director Monti Ossenfort will also be in the building on Friday to interview for the same job, but as Trotter notes, the Browns had similar overlap in their head coaching search.

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Berry has been the rumored favorite for the job, in part because of his relationship with the organization and owner Jimmy Haslam. The exec spent the 2016-18 campaigns as the Browns’ vice president of player personnel. Prior to that, he served as the Colts’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-15.

Recently, the Eagles denied the Panthers’ request to interview Berry for a front office position. They have no such ability here, since the GM job would give Berry authority over the roster.

It remains to be seen whether a front office headlined by Berry, Ossenfort, or anyone else would still include assistant GM Eliot Wolf or VP of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith.

Eagles Deny Panthers’ Request To Interview Andrew Berry

January 13th, 2020 at 6:54pm CST by Rory Parks

Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry is a popular man these days. The Browns are interested in Berry for their GM vacancy, and the Panthers also requested an interview with Berry, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (via Twitter). Adam Schefter says Carolina wanted to interview Berry for its executive vice president position (Twitter link), but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the Eagles denied the request (Twitter link).

Because the Panthers wanted to hire Berry for a role that doesn’t include final roster authority, Philadelphia has the right to block the interview. The Panthers already have Marty Hurney in place as GM, and recent reports indicated that Hurney and new head coach Matt Rhule would collaborate in finding an assistant GM. But Panthers owner David Tepper wants to add multiple people to his front office, and Berry’s significant personnel experience intrigued him.

A Harvard graduate, Berry first entered the NFL in 2009 as a scouting assistant in the Colts’ front office. He was eventually promoted through a number of roles, and he ultimately served as Indianapolis’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-15 before leaving for Cleveland, where he spent the 2016-18 campaigns as vice president of player personnel.

Though his three years in Cleveland did not go particularly well, Berry is currently considered the favorite for the Browns’ GM job, where he would work with new head coach Kevin Stefanski and chief strategist Paul DePodesta.

Browns Hire Kevin Stefanski As Head Coach

January 13th, 2020 at 5:23pm CST by Rory Parks

Jan. 13: The Browns have formally announced the hire. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Cleveland has given Stefanski a five-year contract (Twitter link).

Jan. 12: The Browns will hire Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports (via Twitter) that it’s a done deal. Stefanski was the runner-up for the Cleveland HC gig last year, and after Freddie Kitchen‘s disastrous 2019 campaign resulted in his dismissal, the Browns have circled back to the man many believe they should have hired in the first place.

Stefanski has served in a variety of roles for the Vikings since joining the organization back in 2006, including stints as the tight ends coach, running backs coach, and quarterbacks coach. The 37-year-old was named interim offensive coordinator following the firing of John DeFilippo during the 2018 season, and he earned the full-time gig prior to the 2019 campaign.

During Stefanski’s first full season at the helm, the Vikings ranked as a top-10 offense in points. The coach led the trio of Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and Mike Boone to top-six rankings in rushing yards and touchdowns, and he also helped quarterback Kirk Cousins have one of the best seasons of his career. Although the Vikings laid an egg in Saturday’s divisional round loss to the 49ers, Cleveland was obviously undeterred.

The Browns’ coaching search saw them interview eight candidates, as our 2020 head coaching search tracker shows (former Baylor HC Matt Rhule, who ultimately accepted the Panthers’ head coaching job, turned down the opportunity to interview with Cleveland). Browns chief strategist Paul DePodesta piloted the search, and recent reports indicated that he had narrowed his list to Stefanski and Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, though Cabot tweets that Stefanski and 49ers DC Robert Saleh were the two finalists.

Interestingly, DePodesta’s contract with Cleveland is reportedly set to expire, but given his role in the coaching search, it seems likely that the Browns will retain him. However, the team continues to search for a new GM, and Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry may have just become the leading candidate for that role, as his analytically-driven approach meshes with Stefanski’s.

Meanwhile, Vikings QB coach Klint Kubiak could follow Stefanski to Cleveland to become the Browns’ new OC, as Mike Klis of 9News.com tweets.

With the Stefanski hire, the 2020 head coaching cycle has come to a stop. The Browns were the last of the five teams with a head coaching vacancy this year to hire their HC.

Latest On Browns’ Coaching & GM Search

January 12th, 2020 at 7:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns have their new head coach in Kevin Stefanski, but they still need a new GM after firing John Dorsey. They recently requested an interview with Eagles exec Andrew Berry, and Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets that he’s “at the front of the GM candidates.”

Robinson notes that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam once said he considered Berry a future GM, and that he has a relationship with chief strategist Paul DePodesta. In a separate tweet, Robinson explains that it may come down to whether or not Berry wants to take the job. He notes that Berry, who used to work in Cleveland under former GM Sashi Brown, is only 32 and in a good situation in Philly. He also writes that Berry will likely get other calls if he passes on the job.

As for the search that ultimately ended in Stefanski, Robinson has some interesting new nuggets. He tweets that Josh McDaniels “wanted a specific structure with the Browns” and that he “wasn’t going to an org where DePodesta or anyone else was a ‘side jury’ reporting to Haslam.” If that’s the case, then it sounds like McDaniels never got too close to landing in Cleveland despite his lengthy visit. The Browns and Haslam have caught plenty of flak for their odd reporting structures, and it sounds like that was an issue once again this time around. 

Robinson also tweets that both Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh “had very good interviews” and that he thinks they were the finalists along with Stefanski. Both should be hot names during next cycle. As for Stefanski’s staff, Robinson tweets that the rookie head coach will likely target either Gary or Klint Kubiak. The Kubiaks were on staff with Stefanski in Minnesota, although Robinson thinks the Vikings will try to retain both. Either could be a candidate to be Cleveland’s new OC assuming Stefanski hires one.

Finally, Robinson tweeted about the future prospects for assistant GM Eliot Wolf and VP of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith. He thinks the Haslams are open to both staying, and that Wolf will have a conversation with whoever the new GM is about a role.

Browns Request GM Interview With Eagles’ Andrew Berry

January 11th, 2020 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns are interested in bringing Andrew Berry back to Cleveland. They requested an interview with the Eagles’ vice president of football operations, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

With Berry being part of the Browns’ new-age front office experiment, along with Sashi Brown and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, this certainly loomed as a possibility. The Eagles hired Berry in February of last year.

The prospect of a Berry-DePodesta reunion surfaced earlier this week. DePodesta is seeking an analytically oriented coach, and Berry would make sense as a GM for this approach. Prior to becoming a the Colts’ pro scouting coordinator and the Browns’ VP of player personnel, Berry graduated from Harvard with an economics degree. He has a computer science master’s.

Despite the Browns wanting to hire their head coach before their GM, front office candidates have emerged. Cleveland is slated to interview Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds. Seahawks execs Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer are on the radar as well. So is Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter).

Reuniting DePodesta and Berry would be an interesting move for a Browns franchise that hit its low point during their previous time together. Cleveland went an NFL-record 1-31 in this duo’s first two years working with Brown and Hue Jackson. Both Berry and DePodesta were on board for a 2018 Browns draft that included Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb. But since-departed GM John Dorsey held the most influence in that process.

Latest On Browns’ HC Search

January 7th, 2020 at 8:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns are no longer competing with any team for coaching candidates, with the Panthers and Giants having made their choices. However, neither hired a coach the Browns were considering. Both were linked to Josh McDaniels, who remains set to interview with the Browns on Friday.

But with Jim Schwartz entering the derby and Kevin Stefanski remaining a Browns target, McDaniels’ status as frontrunner may be slipping. The Patriots offensive coordinator may not have the edge Schwartz or Stefanski, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link).

Stefanski wowed Browns brass in his 2019 interview, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer adds. But then-GM John Dorsey promoted Freddie Kitchens instead. With Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta running this year’s search, the team appears to be seeking analytically geared coaches. Schwartz and Stefanski profile as embracing analytics, per Rapoport.

McDaniels, however, still has support in the Browns building, Cabot notes, adding that DePodesta and ex-Browns exec Andrew Berry (now with the Eagles) would be interested in a reunion. However, Cabot points to said reunion being most likely to commence with Stefanski as the head coach.

McDaniels’ interview will occur Friday — two days after Schwartz’s and one day after Stefanski’s. A northeast Ohio native, the 43-year-old McDaniels has interviewed with the Browns twice before. He met with the Browns during previous owner Randy Lerner‘s tenure in 2009, but the team hired Eric Mangini. McDaniels withdrew his name from consideration after interviewing in 2014, when current owner Jimmy Haslam was in charge. The Browns conducted a lengthy search in 2014; McDaniels was once believed to be the favorite during that process as well. The Browns want to make their hire by Saturday, so second interviews do not appear to be on tap.

Here is where the Browns’ process stands as of Tuesday night, courtesy of PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker:

Eagles Notes: Roseman, Weidl, Wentz

June 14th, 2019 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The departure of Joe Douglas to the Jets has let to some front office shuffling for the Eagles. This week, the Eagles officially added the title of GM to Howie Roseman‘s nameplate and elevated Andy Weidl from director of player personnel to vice president of player personnel.

“Andy was raised in a great scouting community with the Steelers, Saints, and Ravens and then came to Philadelphia at the same time that we hired Joe,” Roseman said in a statement. “He’s grown from assistant director of player personnel to director of player personnel and really deserves an opportunity to run the scouting department on a day-to-day basis as the vice president of player personnel. We’re excited about Andy.”

The Eagles will now forge ahead without Douglas in a quest to capture another Super Bowl ring. Here’s the latest from Philly:

  • Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of the Eagles’ front office shuffle, from Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter): The team has two main arteries – a football operations department and a player personnel department. Andrew Berry is atop football operations while Weidl is atop player personnel. Both execs will funnel up to Roseman, who is atop the chart.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap took a deep dive into Carson Wentz‘s extension, which is not as clear-cut as first believed.
  • Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins wants a new contract, but he still showed up for mandatory minicamp.

How Will The Eagles Replace Joe Douglas?

June 9th, 2019 at 10:17am CST by Rory Parks

Teams obviously hate to lose talented front office executives, and when it happens, the losing club will invariably wish the departing exec all the best and will lament how difficult it will be to replace him.

But for the Eagles, who lost Howie Roseman‘s second-in-command when Joe Douglas agreed to accept the Jets’ GM job several days ago, replacing Douglas really will be a tall order. Douglas was instrumental in some of the major roster decisions that turned Philadelphia into a Super Bowl champion at the end of the 2017 season, and his fingerprints are all over the 2019 club, which is again expected to compete for a title.

Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com examines three potential candidates to fill the void that Douglas left: vice president of football operations Andrew Berry, assistant director of player personnel Andy Weidl, and recently-deposed Texans GM Brian Gaine.

Berry is perhaps the most logical choice, as he was hired by the Eagles just a few months ago as a potential replacement for Douglas when Douglas ultimately moved on. Philadelphia may not have thought that it would need to fill Douglas’ role so soon, but it seemed the club knew that Douglas would get a GM gig sooner rather than later. Berry spent three years with the Browns as their vice president of player personnel, and while his background isn’t in college scouting, he is still widely respected in league circles and is seen as a future GM himself.

Weidl came to the Eagles along with Douglas in 2016, and he has a scouting background to rival Douglas’. Weidl may join Douglas’ new staff in New York, but that is still a fluid situation.

Gaine, meanwhile, was shockingly fired by the Texans just one year into his tenure as GM, and no one has been able to figure out exactly why. His inclusion on Rosenblatt’s list is perhaps more speculation than anything else, but Gaine has not — on the surface — done anything to damage his reputation as a talented executive, and he will surely get a prominent role somewhere. He may find Philadelphia’s strong front office as an attractive place to land on his feet.

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