BEREA (92.3 The Fan) – For 17 years the traditional way of thinking and doing business has not worked in Cleveland.
And so a Harvard-educated lawyer and an innovative analytical baseball savant have been called upon to solve the greatest riddle of them all – how to fix the broken Browns.
Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta and executive vice president of personnel Sashi Brown are the latest to be tasked with trying to turn around the worst team in the NFL that has become famous for heartbreaking losses, awful draft picks and off-the-field drama that rivals any reality television show.
“I understand the skepticism,” DePodesta said Thursday.
The demise of many regimes that have strolled through Berea – including the last one – has been a result of collaboration that has eventually turned into conflict, dissension and everyone getting fired because of it.
“All the teams that struggle around the NFL, you read about some sort of conflict between the head coach and the GM or personnel and coach,” DePodesta said. “Boy, it’s the same movie over and over again…and we all know how it ends. Right? It’s not a good ending.
“We’re certainly aware of that and it’s our job to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. We feel good about the start we’re off to but the proof will be in the pudding, hopefully over the next many years.”
Over the last few years the Browns seemed to have switched genres – from horror to comedy. The team has became so sad that fans can’t help laughing, because it sure beats crying.
DePodesta and Brown will play a key role in trying to write a whole new script and reverse the fortunes of a franchise that has been a complete failure since returning in 1999.
“We’ll make sure we make the best possible decisions for our organization going forward,” Brown said. “That really is my role – to bring all the information together and make the best strategic decision each and every time.
“That’s going to be part using analytics, but only part, and largely based in talent evaluation. And we do plan on putting together a great [personnel] staff to complement what we do.”
DePodesta and Brown are not adept at evaluating football talent which is why the Browns will add a vice president of player personnel within a week or 2 to aid in the talent evaluation process.
The new VP along with DePodesta, Brown and head coach Hue Jackson will collaborate on talent acquisition, with Brown having the final say on the 53-man roster.
For the newly aligned front office, sharing a vision can’t be just a slogan, it has to be what they actually do – a problem previous regimes never solved.
“Collaboration doesn’t mean lack of disagreement,” Brown said “We want disagreement. We think it’s healthy, but we all have to trust in each other in our respective roles to make sure that we get to the right decision.
“These will be Cleveland Browns decisions. Ultimately at the end of the day it’s my responsibility, but these will all be organizational decisions.”
When DePodesta, who made the use of analytics mainstream in Major League Baseball, was hired many laughed, rolled their eyes and said, “leave it to the Browns to hire a baseball guy to fix a football team.”
All joking aside, the former Mets executive landed in Cleveland because of his ability to build organizations and not printing spreadsheets off a laptop.
Contrary to popular belief, DePodesta and Brown aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel or revolutionize the sport. They just want to take a deeper look at the metrics already being used and use that knowledge to help them pick better players and in turn field a better team.
“This is something that’s been around in football forever,” DePodesta said. “When we time players in the 40-yard dash or we test them in other things at the combine to help us make a better decision in the draft, that’s analytics. When you’re deciding what play to call on third and 9 based on what the other defense does, what your capabilities are, you’re using analytics to make that decision.
“I don’t think it’s going to be something that’s truly novel but we’re certainly going to be seeking out, not only information but better information to help us make better decisions in all phases, whether it’s with personnel, whether its player development, the draft, etc.”
The lack of talent the team acquires – especially in the draft considering their regular positioning in the top-20 – continues to confound everyone and anyone. The Browns have produced just 2 Pro Bowl players out of their last 10 first-round picks – none since 2010 – which has led to last place finishes in each of the last 5 seasons and 7 of the last 8.
Until the Browns start drafting better, any hope for a turnaround is simply wasted energy and they know it – hence the new approach and deeper way of thinking.
“It won’t be dictating our personnel decisions but hopefully informing them,” Brown said.
What the Browns are attempting to do can’t hurt.
Nothing they’ve done to date has come remotely close to working so maybe, just maybe, this latest plan isn’t nearly as crazy as some say it is.
