Paul DePodesta

Browns Considering Mike McCarthy-Eliot Wolf Pairing

December 31st, 2019 at 8:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite John Dorsey and the Browns parting ways, assistant GM Eliot Wolf remains in his position. And the Browns are considering pairing him with another former Packers coworker.

Mike McCarthy will be the Browns’ first HC interview, with Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noting the longtime Green Bay coach will meet with the Browns on Thursday. The Browns, who have gone through numerous front office structures under Jimmy Haslam, are considering a McCarthy-Wolf power structure, Cabot adds.

Wolf was in Green Bay for each of McCarthy’s nine playoff appearances as Packers coach, working with the Packers from 2004-17. The final four of those years featured Wolf as either the Packers’ director of player personnel or director of football operations. The second-generation NFL executive left for Cleveland in 2018, when former Packers exec Dorsey joined as Browns GM. The Browns appear to be considering a promotion for the son of Hall of Fame exec Ron Wolf. Eliot Wolf has interviewed for GM jobs in the past, and he may be back on the radar — despite the latest upheaval at Browns headquarters.

McCarthy, 56, has already interviewed with the Panthers and will meet with the Giants this weekend. He was on the Browns’ radar during the 2019 hiring period but did not meet with team brass. The Browns ended the 2010s with seven head coaches and are obviously hoping for some semblance of stability entering the next decade.

Several other candidates are on the Browns’ HC radar. Josh McDaniels, Eric Bieniemy, Greg Roman, Kevin Stefanski and 49ers assistants Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel and Matt LaFleur. Baylor head coach Matt Rhule turned down the opportunity to interview with the Browns.

Cleveland’s next head coach may need to make a greater commitment to analytics, with Cabot adding that Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta is planning to incorporate more analytical concepts into the team’s game plans. This blueprint did not appear to be a hit with Dorsey or Freddie Kitchens, with a source informing Cabot it only complicated matters further for an “in over his head” Kitchens.

Latest On Browns’ Front Office

December 31st, 2019 at 6:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns’ disappointing season produced the firing of Freddie Kitchens and prompted Jimmy Haslam to approach John Dorsey about stripping his power. That led to the constantly retooling franchise having another GM vacancy. The Haslams confirmed the 2019 Browns’ underachievement helped lead to Dorsey departing.

“While John helped greatly improve our team’s talent and we are excited about the core players on our roster, we fully recognized that our team did not meet its potential on or off the field and additional changes in leadership give us the best opportunity for success in the future,” Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a statement. “As the role of the general manager continues to evolve in this league we felt there were areas that needed to be reassessed. Over the last 48 hours, we’ve had discussion with John about his role but could not come to an agreement on a position that would enable him to remain with the organization.”

The Browns have now gone through five GMs or de facto GMs during Haslam’s seven-plus-year tenure. They will be looking for No. 6, along with a seventh head coach under current ownership.

Here is the latest on the state of the Browns’ front office:

It is not certain Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta will survive a second regime change during his tenure, but that looks to be the case. Former football operations boss Sashi Brown‘s right-hand man, DePodesta stayed on during Dorsey’s run and is now playing a key role helping Jimmy Haslam find the Browns’ next head coach. The former MLB GM is taking a “very heavy hand” in Cleveland’s latest coaching search, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link).
DePodesta, however, is not necessarily in charge. The fourth-year executive is not currently running the football operation, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This does beg the question as to who exactly is running things at this point.
Top responsibility may now fall on assistant GM Eliot Wolf. Although Wolf came aboard shortly after Dorsey did and worked with Dorsey in Green Bay as well, the second-generation NFL exec is still a part of Cleveland’s front office, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. That could certainly change soon, once a new GM or head coach with GM powers arrives in Berea.
Dorsey received a nice exit package from the Browns. The two-time NFL GM will walk away with two years’ severance, according to Pelissero (on Twitter). This marks the second time in three years Dorsey will be on the market, with the Chiefs having fired him during the summer of 2017.

Browns Request Interview With Josh McDaniels

December 30th, 2019 at 9:55am CST by Rory Parks

The Browns, who fired head coach Freddie Kitchens yesterday, have requested an interview with Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says McDaniels is the Browns’ top choice (Twitter link).

Of course, McDaniels’ brief and disastrous tenure as the Broncos’ head coach from 2009-10 and his jilting of the Colts after he agreed to become their head coach in February 2018 are well-known. But he remains one of the most respected offensive minds in the game, and he has once again become a popular head coaching candidate.

Cabot writes in a full-length piece that the Browns’ job is attractive to McDaniels, an Ohio native. The question is whether McDaniels would want to work within the Cleveland front office as it’s currently structured. We heard yesterday that GM John Dorsey may be on the hot seat, and while the report of Kitchens’ firing indicated that Dorsey was safe, that may not be the case.

Indeed, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports believes owner Jimmy Haslam will, in fact, alter the executive layer of his team, and he thinks the dynamic between chief strategist Paul DePodesta and Dorsey will change (Twitter link). Cabot confirms that there is a disconnect between DePodesta and the analytics side of the operation and Dorsey and the football side, and that disconnect would obviously need to be resolved prior to McDaniels — or anyone else — agreeing to come on board.

Because of his desirability, McDaniels can afford to be particular and can largely dictate the makeup of a team’s front office. He is likely to want a lot of authority over personnel matters, and he may want to bring current Pats exec and popular GM candidate Nick Caserio along with him.

Meanwhile, Browns assistant coaches met with team brass this morning, per Cabot. They were not fired but were given permission to seek other jobs.

Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, another top candidate for NFL head coaching jobs, is not interested in the Cleveland gig, per Michael Lomabrdi of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Browns GM John Dorsey On Hot Seat?

December 29th, 2019 at 10:13am CST by Rory Parks

We heard earlier this morning that the Browns are doing their due diligence on potential replacements for first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens. That report was not particularly surprising, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has since dropped a much more intriguing nugget. Per Florio, Cleveland GM John Dorsey may also be on the hot seat.

Florio’s sources have indicated that “questions have emerged” regarding Dorsey’s future in Cleveland, with one source saying the GM’s job is “not completely safe.” It still sounds more likely than not that Dorsey will be back in 2020, but it’s nonetheless notable that ownership is even considering a change.

After all, Dorsey came to the team in December 2017 and has infused a great deal of talent into the roster in a short period of time. In some respects, he may even be a victim of his own success. If you had told most people that the Browns, who have almost always been a doormat since their rebirth in 1999, would have posted at least six wins in 2018 and 2019 after finishing 0-16 in 2017, those people likely would have said that Dorsey has things headed in the right direction.

But given the expectations that came with Dorsey’s high-profile acquisitions over the past couple of years, the team’s 6-9 record in 2019 is an abject disappointment. And he was the one who spearheaded the Kitchens hire, and he also forced former OC Todd Haley onto former HC Hue Jackson, which created a disastrous relationship.

Plus, a GM is not just a fantasy football player. He must not only accumulate talent but also determine how that talent will complement each other and how personalities will mesh. Obviously, Cleveland has been a disaster in that regard this year.

Florio says chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta could be a factor in Dorsey’s fate. There were rumblings earlier in the year that DePodesta could be elevated over Dorsey, and while that didn’t happen, current rumors suggest that if DePodesta were willing to relocate to Cleveland on a full-time basis, he could end up with much more power. Or, ownership could fire Dorsey and let DePodesta choose his successor.

Even if the smart money is on Dorsey staying and Kitchens going, this is clearly a situation worth monitoring, and one that seemed completely unrealistic at the start of the season.

Eagles Hire Andrew Berry

February 25th, 2019 at 8:43am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman have made an addition to the club’s front office, hiring former Browns executive Andrew Berry as vice president of football operations, according to Ian Rapoport and Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Berry joined Cleveland’s front office in 2016 after ex-GM Sashi Brown hired him as vice president of player personnel. He’s now being hired away by the Eagles for what is considered a promotion, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Berry had reportedly drawn interest from several other teams in the past, per Rapoport and Kinkhabwala, but the Eagles make sense as a fit given Cleveland and Philadelphia’s shared interest in analytics.

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 ultimately served as Indianapolis’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-16 before leaving for Cleveland.

Although Berry is departing the Browns’ front office, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta is expected to remain in his current role, per Cabot (Twitter link).

Browns Part Ways With Ryan Grigson

January 10th, 2018 at 1:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have parted ways with executive Ryan Grigson, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (on Twitter) hears. Meanwhile, Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, andVP/player personnel Andrew Berry will continue in their present roles with the team, according to ESPN.com’s Tony Grossi (on Twitter).

New GM John Dorsey has set out to shake things up in the Browns’ front office. Soon after taking the job, Dorsey plucked Alonzo Highsmith (now the team’s Vice President of Football Operations) and Eliot Wolf (newly appointed assistant GM) from the Packers. The former Colts GM, however, will not be a part of the revamped group.

It’s somewhat surprising to hear that DePodesta and Berry will keep their jobs, particularly after Dorsey ripped former head honcho Sashi Brown and “the guys” who were a part of “that system.” Dorsey has used analytics in the past, but he a traditional football man at heart, so DePodesta may not have much impact in what goes down this offseason.

Browns’ John Dorsey Rips Previous Regime

December 14th, 2017 at 11:25am CST by Zachary Links

Paul DePodesta might not be long for Cleveland. In an interview on Thursday morning, new Browns GM John Dorsey took aim at not only his predecessor, but the people working underneath him.

“You know what? You’ve got to get a guy like that (coach Hue Jackson) players,” Dorsey told WKNR 850 (transcript via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “And you know what? I’ll come straight out with it. The guys who were here before, that system, they didn’t get real players.”

Dorsey’s decision to pluralize “guys” and deride the previous “system” does not bode well for DePodesta, the team’s Chief Strategy Officer. Dorsey has used some analytics in the past, but he is more of a traditional football man and he might not see a ton of value in keeping the Moneyball pioneer on the payroll.

It’s not just DePodesta that could be shown the door. Dorsey also sidestepped a question about whether Jackson will return as coach in 2018.

“I live in the present and I build for the future,” Dorsey said. “Right now the sun’s out, the tarps are coming out, we’re practicing outside, we’re getting ready to play the Baltimore Ravens and that’s my sole focus. And then it’s also getting familiar with the whole layout and the organizational structure.”

AFC North Rumors: Harrison, Ross, Browns

December 9th, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

James Harrison sounds like he’s regretting his offseason decision to re-sign with the Steelers. The 39-year-old edge defender told NBC’s Michele Tafoya he would have signed elsewhere had he known he was going to receive this level of playing time (Twitter link). Harrison’s been active for just four Steelers games and has played just 29 snaps. While the Steelers viewed him as a bullpen-type weapon this offseason, those plans either haven’t come to fruition or are part of a long-game solution by the Super Bowl-contending team. He delivered standout football as a full-timer last season, and Pro Football Focus has not viewed Bud Dupree‘s work highly this season. But it hasn’t been enough to get Harrison on the field. Harrison signed a two-year deal to stay in Pittsburgh in March; the Steelers can save $1.3MM by cutting him after the season. While Harrison could look elsewhere if he wants to continue his career, he’ll turn 40 in May and did not fare well the only other time he left Pittsburgh, having retired from the 2013 Bengals.

Here’s the latest from the North divisions.

John Ross enjoyed an up-and-down 2017. The former Washington speedster became a top-10 selection despite offseason injuries but enjoyed one of the more nondescript rookie seasons a first-round wideout has in memory, playing just 17 snaps over three Bengals games and failing to catch a pass. Ross will encounter more hurdles soon. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter) Ross will undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. This comes after Ross underwent a procedure to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. While this marks yet another surgery for the oft-injured pass-catcher, Rapoport notes Ross is expected to be ready by OTAs.
The Bengals placed Adam Jones on IR on Saturday, but the veteran cornerback does not want to wrap up his career just yet. The 34-year-old Jones said (on Twitter) he’s “not done playing football.” A team option will determine whether Jones will play his age-35 season on the Bengals, who can save $6MM by cutting the polarizing but effective corner.
Paul DePodesta and John Dorsey have yet to meet, with their first summit set to come when they watch Sunday’s Browns-Packers game together. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports the team’s chief strategy officer was not in on the GM’s hiring, and the longtime Browns reporter doesn’t see how this setup will work. The former MLB exec and Dorsey will each report to Jimmy Haslam, with some potentially contradictory philosophies, while the Browns attempt to move on from a chaotic period that was largely caused by disparate-thinking voices in the building.
However, the draft choices Brown acquired and cap space he helped create were the most attractive part of this job, Dorsey said (via Pat McManamon of ESPN.com). Dorsey will control the 53-man roster for the first time in his GM history, commandeering these responsibilities after Andy Reid had them in Kansas City, and he’ll be entering an offseason with more than $110MM in cap space and five first- or second-round picks in the upcoming draft. Dorsey will also likely have access to the No. 1 pick, just as he did during his first Chiefs draft in 2013. The Chiefs took Eric Fisher atop a lower-regarded draft that year.

Latest On Browns, John Dorsey

December 8th, 2017 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns dominated the news cycle on Thursday by canning top decision maker Sashi Brown and, hours later, replacing him with ex-Chiefs GM John Dorsey. On Friday morning, owner Jimmy Haslam formally announced Dorsey as the team’s new GM and shed some light on the team’s power structure going forward. Here’s a look at the highlights from Haslam plus more news on the Browns’ future plans:

Haslam says the current plan is for head coach Hue Jackson, Dorsey, and executive Paul DePodesta to report to ownership (Twitter link via Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com). “[Hue] and John will be working closely together for a long time,” Haslam said.
Because DePodesta reports directly to Haslam, Dorsey will not have the authority to fire him, Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer hears. The Browns also want to keep Andrew Berry as the Vice President of Player Personnel. Dorsey, will have the opportunity to hire and fire others in the personnel department, but it sounds like he has been asked to work with both DePodesta and Berry.
Haslam reiterated that Jackson will be the coach in 2018. He then went a step further, adding: “I think it would be a mistake to just zero in on ’18. We’re planning on Hue Jackson being our football coach for a long time,” Haslam said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Pat McManamon).
Dorsey has control over the 53-man roster in his contract, sources tell Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). That means he’ll run the draft, free agency, and all other facets of constructing the team. In Kansas City, coach Andy Reid had control over the 53-man roster.
The failed A.J. McCarron trade on the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline had nothing to do with the team beginning to pursue Dorsey five or six weeks ago, Haslam insists (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal).
Things reached a boiling point between Jackson and Brown in August when the team cut cornerback Joe Haden, despite already having plenty of cap space, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports hears. Jackson’s frustration was later compounded when Haden signed with the rival Steelers. Jackson was also riddled with anxiety on draft day since the front office was undecided about the No. 1 overall pick until the morning of the draft. The latest source of tension came from the McCarron deal. Robinson hears that some senior members of the coaching staff felt that Brown had either gotten cold feet or purposely sabotaged the trade.

Browns Hire John Dorsey As GM

December 7th, 2017 at 8:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

That didn’t take long. The Browns have reached an agreement to make John Dorsey their next general manager, Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com report (on Twitter).

This move comes hours after the team fired executive VP and de facto GM Sashi Brown. The Browns announced the move.

Jimmy Haslam had already spoken with several executives to get a read on this search, and it’s clear that was done while Brown was in his final weeks as the team’s top decision-maker. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets this process unfolded over the past “several weeks.” He adds Hue Jackson was consulted.

Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com reports (on Twitter) Dorsey will receive a four-year contract. The Akron-based Browns insider reports the team interviewed two candidates formally and spoke with “two or three more.” Interestingly, Ulrich adds Dorsey will report to ownership along with Jackson and Paul DePodesta — the team’s chief strategy officer who was a key part of the Brown-era front office. So, a blending of philosophies will occur in Cleveland in an interesting arrangement.

Dorsey, though, will have final say over the 53-man roster, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports (on Twitter).

Morsensen tweets a handful of candidates were considered for the job; they just weren’t affiliated with teams presently. This made for an interesting search, all while Brown was still working as their top executive. Haslam will speak at a press conference Friday.

“We are thrilled to have John Dorsey lead our football operations,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. “John has been immersed in the NFL for 26 years, won two Super Bowls, built sustainable winning football teams and is highly respected for his football acumen. We know we have a critical and very positive opportunity ahead of us to profoundly impact the foundation of this football team.”

The Browns did not have to adhere to the usual waiting period to conduct interviews with GM candidates. Since the Chiefs fired Dorsey in June, he was free to interview with any team. Dorsey served as Kansas City’s GM before being abruptly canned. Prior to that, the former linebacker spent many years working with the Packers. He was once thought to be a possible Ted Thompson successor, but he will instead work on one of the most unique rebuilding projects in NFL history.

“Football is what I know, it is what I love, it is what I have worked my whole career at, and I thrive on every element that goes into building a winning football team,” Dorsey said. “I have spent a majority of my football life with two franchises that also have storied history, and I think I have a feel for the mentality of the fans in Cleveland and what it would mean to recreate the success this franchise once had. I also have quickly realized how passionate Jimmy and Dee are about bringing a winning team to the city and would have not taken the job if I didn’t think the right ownership was in place.

“I am eager to work with Hue, his staff, and our personnel department and help bring us the success these fans so deserve.”

Dorsey will take on a much bigger challenge than he did in coming to the Chiefs in 2013. Although the Chiefs were 2-14 in 2012, they had a not-that-distant history of being a competitive franchise. The Browns are an incredible 1-27 since their new regime took over in 2016 and have not made the playoffs since 2002. They have not had a winning season since 2007.

Jackson said earlier today he did not want full personnel control, believing it was too much for a head coach to handle. He’ll now work with Dorsey, who has experience working alongside — and not necessarily above — a head coach. Dorsey and Andy Reid worked in tandem to rapidly rebuild the Chiefs, who rebounded from that 2-14 2012 campaign to make the 2013 playoffs at 11-5 and qualify for three AFC brackets in four years.

The Browns’ new leadership structure will have a bounty of draft picks to work with thanks to Brown’s unorthodox methods. Cleveland has five first- or second-round picks in the upcoming draft. The Texans’ second-half struggles could have the Browns armed with two top-10 choices.

Cleveland’s scorched-earth rebuilding effort also has the team equipped with a staggering $108MM in cap space, so it will be interesting to see how Dorsey and Co. proceed.

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