First things first – I owe Jimmy Haslam some kudos.
When he kicked off the search for the next coach and GM of the Cleveland Browns, I figured the team owner would once again hijack everything. It seemed lofty to assume Haslam would listen to chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, with the idea of him going with an ill-fitting hire based on his gut seeming far more plausible.
He instead did the opposite. He hired Kevin Stefanski, the coach DePodesta initially recommended last year. And today, he hired Andrew Berry, the GM who seems to be the perfect fit for the team’s analytics-heavy approach.
On paper, it appears Haslam has the fully aligned structure he’s been after since buying the Browns eight years ago. One would think this means things can finally start moving in the right direction for this hard luck franchise.
Casey Drottar is an Cleveland Indians writer for Sports Illustrated. Subscribe to his podcast, or follow him on Twitter and Facebook