General Manager Ray Farmer is gone, but it appears the Browns still believe they’re smarter than everyone else.
Tuesday’s addition of Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer completed an analytics triumvirate at the top of the organization. The New York Mets vice president of player development and amateur scouting who got his start in baseball 20 years ago with the Indians, DePodesta joins newly promoted executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and President Alec Scheiner as advocates of advanced statistical analysis.
The three certainly will blow fans away with their diplomas. DePodesta, Brown and Scheiner attended Harvard, Harvard Law School and Georgetown Law School, respectively.
But their position at the top of the Browns’ hierarchy, just below owner Jimmy Haslam, makes one wonder. Who’s going to be the judge of a potential Browns players’ heart, character and love for football? Who’s going to dig into Johnny Manziel’s drinking problem before the draft? Who’s going to find out what everyone in the league save for the Browns apparently knew about cornerback Justin Gilbert?
On the surface, it looks as if the Browns are going back to science like Mike Lombardi, player personnel director under Bill Belichick, did with “The Box” in the 1990s. It measured a player’s agility, change of direction, short-distance speed and burst, and the results were paired with Belichick’s chart for the ideal height, weight and speed for each position on the roster.
But the Browns’ latest hire might not be all about football’s version of Moneyball, even if DePodesta was the model for the character played by Jonah Hill in the movie.
According to the New York Post, the Browns began pursuing DePodesta shortly after the Mets lost the World Series. While DePodesta was surely coveted for his intelligence and organizational skills, the Browns may have also recognized DePodesta as a man who can save their scouting department.
God knows it needs saving.
In a statement released by the Mets, General Manager Sandy Alderson said DePodesta “completely reorganized the Mets’ scouting and player development functions.” He was regarded as Alderson’s heir apparent.
Poor drafting, especially of quarterbacks, has been the Browns’ biggest issue since 1999. I still fear that the organizational structure and emphasis on analytics might hurt the Browns in their search for a coach and general manager, essentially a director of player personnel under the new setup.
There are too many people calling the team’s reorganization “a recipe for disaster” not to listen and fear doom.
But DePodesta started out as the Indians’ minor-league van driver in spring training in 1996 and worked his way up, according to the Harvard Crimson. Perhaps he can be the one to end the Browns’ abysmal run of 24 starting quarterbacks in 16 years.
Coughlin available
If the Browns want instant legitimacy, they should hire Tom Coughlin.
Even as I say it, I don’t see it happening. Coughlin, 69, who didn’t rule out coaching again when he stepped down Monday after 12 years with the New York Giants, would not be Haslam’s puppet. The Giants have missed the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons and have finished with a losing record for three consecutive years. Coughlin might not be willing to go along with the new-school analytical approach the Browns are taking.
Yet Coughlin also won two Super Bowls and made five playoff appearances with the Giants. He has Hall of Fame credentials. Starting in 2007, the Vince Lombardi-like Coughlin realized he had to become a father figure to his players and the Giants responded after he showed them his softer side.
Brian Dulik of the Medina Gazette and Elyria Chronicle-Telegram came up with the perfect scenario Monday for the Browns to bring in Coughlin. They could allow him to pick his successor and establish that man as associate head coach. Coughlin could not only go out on his own terms, but hand the reins to someone he groomed and give the Browns the continuity they’ve long been seeking.
Sexism on talk radio
Enough with the Dee Haslam bashing.
Sports talk radio was rampant with sexism after Haslam named his wife to be part of the selection committee for the new coach and general manager that also includes himself, Jed Hughes of executive search firm Korn Ferry, Brown and now DePodesta.
I laud Haslam for including Dee, who I hope will be a good judge of character and people skills needed in both men hired.
Dee Haslam’s role with the team has increased since her husband took over in the fall of 2012. She was listed as owner in the Browns 2015 media guide, serves on the NFL’s Legislative and Conduct committees and is president of the Cleveland Browns Foundation. She’s also an Emmy-nominated television producer who is CEO of her RIVR Media Companies, responsible for such series as Trading Spaces and the World Series of Poker.
She’s just as deserving of being on the committee as former general counsel Brown. Let’s hope she can help identify a coach who is not only a leader, but has the heart and passion to foster a family atmosphere on the team.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com.