As news broke that the Cleveland Browns came to a long-term contract extension with running back Nick Chubb, another Browns extension got lost in that shadow. Team owner Jimmy Haslam shared with the media that Paul DePodesta has signed on for the long-term as well.
DePodesta came to the Browns out of Major League Baseball which created quite a stir at the time. DePodesta and Sashi Brown, then-general manager, ushered in a strong analytics bent to the Cleveland organization. While those two were aligned, Haslam pushed for the hiring of Hue Jackson as the head coach outside of the recommendation of DePodesta.
Surprisingly, the Browns chief strategy officer was kept on after Brown was let go and John Dorsey was brought in. Last offseason, DePodesta joined the team’s ownership group in seeking alignment with a new head coach and new general manager. With his recommendation, Kevin Stefanski was hired to coach the team while Andrew Berry was brought back to run the front office.
Now, not only are all three aligned in philosophy but also with their contracts:
#Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said they’ve reached a 5-year contract extension with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta that aligns with Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry’s.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) July 31, 2021
There were some concerns that DePodesta’s contract was coming to an end last year but had not been brought up until now. Continuity, both on the field in in the office, has rarely been present in Cleveland since the team’s return in 1999. Now, with the three biggest decision makers aligned in almost every way, the Browns have continuity that fans have craved for years.
