Right now I consider the Browns GM search akin to the quest for the Holy Grail. Don’t get me wrong, the extensive, well thought out process is a nice change of pace for Jimmy Haslam. In previous years, Haslam would have taken the advise of some homeless guy and the Browns front office would be up and running. Fear not Browns fans, I have a feeling Jimmy wants to get it right, for once. As of now, the Browns have interviewed the Eagles Andrew Berry, the Vikings George Paton and the Patriots Monti Ossenfort (you forgot about him didn’t you). Here’s where it stands as I know it and it could change at any time.
Andrew Berry interviewed first and as I said last week, worked for the Browns from 2016 to 2018. As Browns twitter melts down more and more every day, some are associating Berry with the 1-31 years. Personally I don’t think that’s fair, we really don’t know how much influence Berry had over GM Sashi Brown or head coach Hugh Jackson. Remember Jackson wanted to send two draft picks to Cincinnati for QB A.J. McCarron, thank god that didn’t happen. The Eagles will not let Berry interview with another team if he does not have control over the selection of the 53 man roster. Carolina wanted to interview Berry for their GM position, but could not guarantee that, so the Eagles denied their interview request. Another positive with Andrew Berry is that he was part of the interview process last year when the Browns interviewed Kevin Stefanski. They hit it off and have kept in touch over the last year. So this tells me Stefanski would be on board with Andrew Berry, remember it’s all about alignment. On the downs side, Berry knows how Jimmy Haslam operates, i.e. impatient, knee jerk reaction to everything, dysfunction. I would be fine with Andrew Berry.
Next up was George Paton of the Vikings. His first interview was a surprise. No one knew he interviewed until it was announced he would interview for a second time last Wednesday. Paton has worked for the Vikings for 14 years and is GM Rick Spielman’s right hand man. NFL teams have been trying to pry him away from the Vikings for years and he’s always denied their requests. It’s a good sign that the Browns not only got one interview, but also a follow up interview. As we have now learned, Paton has decided to stay in Minnesota and declined the Browns GM position. He didn’t do it because of the Browns reputation for dysfunction, but rather he chose to stay with the Vikings. This tells me when Spielman retires, Paton is the next Vikings GM.
Next up is Monti Ossenfort, the forgotten man. The Patriots have always been heavy into analytics and front office alignment. This hire would be right in Paul Depodesta’s wheelhouse. Because the Patriots are so secretive about any front office personnel, the general public knows nothing about Ossenfort. Lets face facts, the Patriots are secretive about everything, it’s the most paranoid NFL franchise. His position right now with New England is head of college scouting. Okay, sounds good, but what about pending free agents? Everyone right now wants to either copy the Patriots or the Steelers, because both are the most stable franchises in the NFL. They don’t make stupid, knee jerk reactions or mistakes. What Browns fans or anyone else doesn’t know, is how his interview went and if he’s interested. What we do know is coach “mumbles” did let him interview, so the Browns got that going for them.
I’m going to throw out a candidate that I think has an outside chance to be the next Browns GM…..Eliot Wolf. Son of long time GM Ron Wolf and current head of Browns pro personnel. He’s handling all scouting and personnel decisions along with Alonzo Highsmith. I think this hire would be great. I know he’s young, but he can always rely on his father, who now lives in Cleveland. The knock on Wolf is he not as knowledgeable in the area contracts. Okay, again he can fall back on his fathers knowledge, a future hall of fame GM. Make Wolf the GM and Highsmith the assistant GM and lets move forward. Obviously, Stefanski trusts Wolf and Highsmith, because they headed the Browns delegation for the Senior Bowl this week. All the candidates are young and have never been GM’s before, but I think a team of Stefanski, Wolf and Highsmith would be just what this franchise needs.
On the coaching front. Former Giants OC and head coach Ben McAdoo interviewed late last week for a offensive position. He’s another case of a guy who’s a better coordinator than a head coach. Immediately, Browns twitter went into meltdown saying if hired for the OC position, the Browns would trade OBJ. Beckham averaged about 1400 yards and 12 touchdowns under McAdoo. Nope, don’t think there’s a trade happening there. Why does everyone want to get rid of Beckham? He played every game, with an injury and still had over 1000 yards receiving. I know, he didn’t show up for OTAs and very little of training camp. But coach Stefanski talked to Beckham on Thursday, so I guess Browns fans will find out about Beckham’s commitment shortly. Pay attention to twitter. Speaking of twitter, Jarvis Landry, (dodge ball king) looks to be all in according to his twitter feed. This is the one guy, who is the barometer of the team, Browns fans need to pay attention to Landry and his twitter account. As for the 49ers assistants linked to the Browns, it sounds like Joe Woods will be the next Browns DC. His contract ends after the Super Bowl and word is he’s already lined up two assistant coaches to come with him to the Browns. The two offensive 49er assistants are a different thing. Running coordinator Mike McDaniels and passing coordinator Mike Lafleur are both in the running for the next Browns OC. The 49ers want to keep both and are currently blocking both from interviewing unless the Browns guarantee play calling responsibilities. 49er head coach and former Browns OC Kyle Shanahan, knows the Browns front office too well.
Lastly, I stumbled across a great free agent tracker the other day. http://www.pff.com/nfl/free-agency. It’s pretty comprehensive and is a must if you’re tracking potential Browns free agents. Of course, we won’t know what free agents the Browns are interested in until they hire a GM. And once they hire a GM, Browns fans might get a hint as to where they are going in the draft. All I know is the 10th pick had better be an offensive tackle. So let the quest continue, not only for a GM, but also for the allusive winning season and playoff appearance. That sound you hear is my wife Karen rolling her eyes and laughing uncontrollably (yes, you can actually hear her eyes roll and it freaks me out every time). Hang tough Browns fans, hopefully the Browns will get this right and I can’t believe I just wrote that. Go Browns.