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Paul DePodesta was hired by the Cleveland Browns in 2016 as chief strategy officer, sparking controversy due to his analytics-driven approach. His background in baseball and education from Harvard made him a target for criticism from fans and media.
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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 âMoneyballâ-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 ânerdâ 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! (Donât look too closely at general manager Andrew Berryâs 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.
Paul DePodesta served as the chief strategy officer for the Cleveland Browns, focusing on analytics and strategic planning.
His hiring was controversial due to his background in baseball and reliance on analytics, which clashed with traditional football philosophies held by some fans and media.
The Cleveland Browns struggled during DePodesta's tenure, continuing a long history of rebuilding without significant success.
The Browns' last successful season in 1985 is often referenced by fans and media as a benchmark for the team's performance, highlighting the frustration with ongoing struggles since then.

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Despite the ongoing narrative that certain members of Clevelandâs front office are obsessed with showing that they are âthe smartest guys in the room,â DePodesta admits he didnât know what he was doing when he first took the job, as he told Ghiroli:
â⊠the Browns were in a place ⊠it was going to be a struggle, and we knew that for a couple of years. I wasnât some savior. I didnât even know what I was doing yet. It was going to take me years to try to figure it out and make some sort of positive contribution to the whole. I just didnât want it to ever be about me.â
Being the Browns, it did not take long for things to turn sour, as co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam bailed on the rebuilding plan too soon, fired Brown, and replaced him with noted âfootball guyâ John Dorsey as general manager.
Dorsey tried to accelerate the rebuild, but after making the smart move to fire head coach Hue Jackson, Dorsey messed up by advocating for Freddie Kitchens to be the head coach. One year and six wins later, both Dorsey and Kitchens were gone.
Not sticking with the plan turned into the norm, according to a former team employee quoted anonymously in the article:
âIâm not sure the original plan ever got to see the light of day. The big question, though, is would it have mattered? If you grade all the decisions on plus-minus, I think their hit rate was better with Paul in it. The problem was you hit on a bunch of dollar bets and missed on a thousand.
âHis process? No one better. It was probably the most advanced in football. I think it failed because they didnât weigh it enough.â
Maybe the real lesson is this: successful NFL teams blend scouting, experience, and analytics. Cleveland spent years treating those ideas as if they could not co-exist.
In the end, the DePodesta era is labeled as a failure because, as always, the people calling the shots can never fully commit to a plan.
Does any of this matter now? Probably not. The Browns have a shiny new head coach in Todd Monken and a general manager in Berry who is looking to build off last yearâs solid draft with multiple picks this weekend.
Of course, the one constant in all this is the ownership group, and that is not changing.
But for veterans of the great analytics wars of 2016 to 2025, this should finally close the book on that chapter in franchise history.