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When executive Paul DePodesta came to Cleveland back in 2016 as the Chief Strategy Officer, the Browns were in rough shape. And now, in a move that surprised many, he will be leaving Cleveland to return to his roots in baseball as the new general manager of the Colorado Rockies. He’ll do so with the Browns still in rough shape, for what it’s worth. DePodesta is, of course, a Harvard-educated athlete whose use of advanced analytics to bolster the Oakland A’s along with general manager Billy Beane more than two decades ago earned him a reputation as one of the progenitors of the “Moneyball” approach to sports management. DePodesta was portrayed, under the character name Peter Brand, by actor Jonah Hill in the “Moneyball” movie. The Athletic described the move as, “a stunning career shift” for DePodesta. Browns Were 56-99-1 Since Paul DePodesta Hire It’s hard to say what impact, if any DePodesta really had with the Browns, seeing as the team went 56-99-1 during his tenure with the franchise and has currently lost 21 of its last 26 games. The Browns deserve credit over that span for building a fearsome defense around star pass-rusher Myles Garrett, but at the same time, also drafted and ditched quarterback Baker Mayfield in the span of just four years. Mayfield has gone on to be a Pro Bowler and an MVP candidate for the Buccaneers, while the Browns followed one of the worst trades in league history–giving up three first-round picks plus two thirds and a fourth for quarterback Deshaun Watson–by handing out one of the worst contracts in league history, a fully guaranteed $230 million deal for Watson over five years. There’s no amount of Moneyball strategy to extricate the Browns from that mess. Some Browns Highlights From Past Decade Still, DePodesta surely deserves some credit for the Browns glimmer of success in 2020, when an 11-5 season led to the playoffs, and again in 2023, when the team went 11-6 despite having Joe Flacco at quarterback. He was also a Cleveland guy, at least professionally speaking. His first jobs in sports were with the Cleveland Indians’ scouting department. “Cleveland and football have always held a special place in my heart,” DePodesta said after he was hired by the Browns, via Cleveland.com. “It was 20 years ago this month, after pursuing my first love of football and looking at every possible job in the NFL, that I got the biggest break I could imagine – a job offer from the American League Champion Cleveland Indians. “As excited as I was then, I’m even more excited now to return to Cleveland and to try to help the Browns.” Didn’t quite work out, of course. And, in the end, it’s not likely that the Browns will miss DePodesta much.
