The Cleveland Browns have decided that the best way to help their organization is by hiring from the outside... outside of football, that is.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted earlier today that the Browns hired Paul DePodesta, who was most recently the vice president of player development and amateur scouting for the MLB’s New York Mets, as an executive vice president.
ESPN reports that DePodesta will serve as chief strategy officer and will report director to owner Jimmy Haslam. DePodesta will actually be above Sashi Brown, the Browns’ new executive VP of football operations.
Pro Football Talk suggests that the hiring of DePodesta means that the Browns will use analytics more to put together their 2016 roster. The team made the move just days after head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer were fired after another awful season.
DePodesta was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ GM from 2004 to 2005 and had been with the Mets since 2010. The Mets reached the World Series at the end of the 2015 MLB season.
“We are fortunate to bring in Paul, an extremely talented, highly respected sports executive who will add a critical dimension to our front office,” Haslam said Tuesday. “His approach and ambition to find the best pathways for organizational success transcend one specific sport and his experience as a high-level sports executive make him a terrific addition to the Cleveland Browns.”
The Browns finished the 2015 season with a 3-13 record. The franchise hasn’t had a winning season since 2007.