Cleveland Browns: Was Paul DePodesta destined to fail?
Paul DePodesta’s time in Cleveland was polarizing. But could his approach have worked if only people listened?
CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 17, 2017: Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta of the Cleveland Browns stands on the field prior to a game on December 17, 2017 against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore won 27-10. (Photo by: 2017 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images The Cleveland Browns made what turned into one of the most polarizing moves in franchise history when they hired Paul DePodesta in 2016.
A former baseball executive known for “Moneyball”-style thinking, DePodesta was brought in as chief strategy officer and paired with general manager Sashi Brown to help lead yet another rebuild. Because DePodesta was Harvard-educated, came from baseball, and favored analytics, he became an easy target for portions of the media and fan base that still hold onto a brand of football that was last successful in 1985. Never mind that analytics, in one form or another, have been a part of pro football since Paul Brown was revolutionizing the sport in the 1940s and 1950s.
DePodesta was a “nerd” who would never understand what it takes to build a team in a town like Cleveland. The boogeyman finally left town and returned to his baseball roots last November after being hired as president of baseball operations for the Colorado Rockies. The Browns were now saved, or so the story goes, because the intelligentsia were out and the football guys were once again back in charge!
(Don’t look too closely at general manager Andrew Berry’s LinkedIn page. ) Turns out, however, that the Browns may have found success had they followed the type of longer-term approach that DePodesta favored. That is one of the key takeaways from an article by Brittany Ghiroli at The Athletic , who profiled DePodesta in his new role with the Rockies, while also dropping some interesting nuggets about his time with the Browns.