Browns GM: Andrew Berry it is.

MoFlo said:

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“But as always, I know nothing and reserve the right to go back on what I’m reporting.”

The Human Q-Tip said:

The toughest thing about being an owner is that you have to select the right experts, from among a pool of people who are the most expert in their field in the world, without having any actual expertise yourself. How do you do that? Whose voice are you supposed to trust when you're trying to pick coaches/GM's? Sure, there are structural processes you can follow, but ultimately, the bottom line is that it's like being an English teacher asked to choose which particular design team is the best one to build a spaceship to Mars. You lack the expertise to choose among the experts.

So, it largely becomes trial and error -- picking the people who seem best to you as a layperson, and hopefully being able to reward success. Problem is that we really haven't had enough success to reward, so it's been reboot after reboot.

If there were a bunch of Jimmy's past hires about whom you could say "we let all those guys get away because we didn't give them enough time, and look at all the success they've had since then", it would be easier to condemn him for impatience. But I'm like you -- I think that if these guys show progress, Jimmy will keep them on, and let them do their thing.

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Very good points (shocking conclusion, since you agreed with me!). I do think there's more crossover than you suggest -- you essentially have leaders trying to select leaders -- but you are right that the owner is at a disadvantage because he doesn't have the domain knowledge.

I also think that luck and/or sequencing of results plays much more of a role than any of us would care to admit. Think of the Rooney family and the Steelers. For the first 34 years of the team's existence, it was a dumpster fire on a barge of rudderless suck. Cumulative record of 156-240-18; seven winning seasons, five .500 campaigns, and the remaining 22 were below .500; one playoff appearance, with that being a quick one-and-done, 21-0 pasting in the divisional round; and 13 head coaches during that time, including a couple who were let go after one season. They were the Haslams before the Haslams were the Haslams.

Then in 1968, the Rooneys hired Chuck Noll ... and after sticking with him through a couple of lean years, they were handsomely rewarded. Now, they've had three total head coaches in a half-century, and are pretty much the poster child for stable franchises.

If we'd been here in 1968, discussing the Steelers' prospects, we'd be shaking our heads and throwing any number of clever insults their way. We certainly wouldn't have foreseen the next 50 years. If we'd known in 1968 that they would go on their run of sustained success, our first question would have been "so who did the Rooneys sell the team to?"

That's not to say that the Haslams will go on a similar run (though Lord knows we as Browns fans deserve it!). It's just to illustrate that (I'll sound like a mutual fund company here) past performance does not guarantee future results ... no matter how guaranteed those results may seem at the time.

Interesting (to me, at least) fact that I found while looking up team histories for that last post:

Even with their Godawful performance since returning in 1999, the Browns have an all-time record above .500 (522-504-14).

AllforOne said:

Interesting (to me, at least) fact that I found while looking up team histories for that last post:

Even with their Godawful performance since returning in 1999, the Browns have an all-time record above .500 (522-504-14).

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That's like your uncle bragging that he banged Diana Ross... then finding out it wasn't a story from his prime years. He banged her last year in the old folks home.

Vikings assistant general manager George Paton wrapped up his second GM interview with the Browns and headed back to Minnesota, a league source told cleveland.com. The two sides will remain in contact to see if it’s a fit for both.

A league source said Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wants Paton ‘in the worst way,’ but both sides have some things to work through before they’re ready to make the commitment.

Stefanski and the Browns also really like Eagles Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry, who was here from 2016-18 as Vice President of Player Personnel. They also interviewed Patriots Director of College Scouting Monti Ossenfort.

Paton, who would have final say over roster decisions, was reluctant to accept the initial interview because he assumed the job would go Berry, a favorite of Jimmy Haslam and Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, a league source told cleveland.com.

But he agreed to it for a chance to work with new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, with whom he spent 13 years in Minnesota, Paton’s entire tenure there. In that span, Paton and Stefanski helped take the Vikings to the playoffs six times, including the NFC Championship Game twice.

Stefanski will be available to the media Wednesday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland, where he’s a presenter.

Paton must determine if he has a comfort level working with Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, who reports directly to Browns ownership, along with the coach and GM. Ownership includes Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and their son-in-law JW Johnson, the Executive Vice President of the team.

Randolphkeys said:

That's like your uncle bragging that he banged Diana Ross... then finding out it wasn't a story from his prime years. He banged her last year in the old folks home.

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Diana Ross of all people?

where is Suzi Quatro?

@The Human Q-Tip

MoFlo said:

Vikings assistant general manager George Paton wrapped up his second GM interview with the Browns and headed back to Minnesota, a league source told cleveland.com. The two sides will remain in contact to see if it’s a fit for both.

A league source said Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wants Paton ‘in the worst way,’ but both sides have some things to work through before they’re ready to make the commitment.

Stefanski and the Browns also really like Eagles Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry, who was here from 2016-18 as Vice President of Player Personnel. They also interviewed Patriots Director of College Scouting Monti Ossenfort.

Paton, who would have final say over roster decisions, was reluctant to accept the initial interview because he assumed the job would go Berry, a favorite of Jimmy Haslam and Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, a league source told cleveland.com.

But he agreed to it for a chance to work with new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, with whom he spent 13 years in Minnesota, Paton’s entire tenure there. In that span, Paton and Stefanski helped take the Vikings to the playoffs six times, including the NFC Championship Game twice.

Stefanski will be available to the media Wednesday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland, where he’s a presenter.

Paton must determine if he has a comfort level working with Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, who reports directly to Browns ownership, along with the coach and GM. Ownership includes Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and their son-in-law JW Johnson, the Executive Vice President of the team.

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I think it’s gonna happen and he’s gonna join his boy Kevin.

The Oi said:

Diana Ross of all people?

where is Suzi Quatro?

@The Human Q-Tip

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I want more than three people to get the reference.



...I will leave that one to my schizophrenic uncle, who indeed is in a home. Meh.

MoFlo said:

Vikings assistant general manager George Paton wrapped up his second GM interview with the Browns and headed back to Minnesota, a league source told cleveland.com. The two sides will remain in contact to see if it’s a fit for both.

A league source said Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wants Paton ‘in the worst way,’ but both sides have some things to work through before they’re ready to make the commitment.

Stefanski and the Browns also really like Eagles Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry, who was here from 2016-18 as Vice President of Player Personnel. They also interviewed Patriots Director of College Scouting Monti Ossenfort.

Paton, who would have final say over roster decisions, was reluctant to accept the initial interview because he assumed the job would go Berry, a favorite of Jimmy Haslam and Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, a league source told cleveland.com.

But he agreed to it for a chance to work with new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, with whom he spent 13 years in Minnesota, Paton’s entire tenure there. In that span, Paton and Stefanski helped take the Vikings to the playoffs six times, including the NFC Championship Game twice.

Stefanski will be available to the media Wednesday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland, where he’s a presenter.

Paton must determine if he has a comfort level working with Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, who reports directly to Browns ownership, along with the coach and GM. Ownership includes Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and their son-in-law JW Johnson, the Executive Vice President of the team.

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This article was updated to include:

“I think we’ve brought in some really good candidates,'' Stefanski said at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards Wednesday night, where he presented Professional Athlete of the Year Stipe Miocic. "I don’t want to single anybody out. I just know that Dee and Jimmy [Haslam] have done their due diligence to make sure that we bring in some really qualified people and again getting to get them in our building and talk to them and understand that shared vision that we all have, I think it’s been a good process.”

He said "it remains to be seen'' if the Browns will interview other candidates. A source said that’s because the Browns aren’t sure Paton will take the job if it’s offered.

“We’re working through that process and we’re going to make sure we take our time and are methodical about it,'' Stefanski said.

He said his relationship with Paton "is very similar to my relationship with most all of the people in that building. It’s a great place. I’m going to miss a lot of those people, and I’ve reached out to them and told them that. But definitely a bunch of special people in that building.”

He said the Browns don’t have a timeline "but I think we’re huddling up and having a lot of good discussions and see where it goes. We’re gathering information as we go.”

Paton was flown in from Minnesota on the Haslams’ private jet at about 8 a.m. and flown back the same way this evening. The interview lasted from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

MoFlo said:

Ownership includes Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and their son-in-law JW Johnson

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Every single time JW’s listed, he’s listed as the Haslam’s son in law. How can it be their son in law. Doesn’t he have to be one of their fucking sons

The Wizard of Moz said:

Every single time JW’s listed, he’s listed as the Haslam’s son in law. How can it be their son in law. Doesn’t he have to be one of their fucking sons

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Not if hes married to their child...

The Wizard of Moz said:

Every single time JW’s listed, he’s listed as the Haslam’s son in law. How can it be their son in law. Doesn’t he have to be one of their fucking sons

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Um, their daughter married him, so he's a son in law to both of them..? Lol.

Maybe you're thinking of "step-son" as opposed to son in law?

The Wizard of Moz said:

Every single time JW’s listed, he’s listed as the Haslam’s son in law. How can it be their son in law. Doesn’t he have to be one of their fucking sons

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If he was one of their sons, wouldn't his last name be "Haslam" and not "Johnson?"

Today was the day we found out Moz doesn’t know what a son-in-law is.