A strong commitment to analytics led the Browns to lure longtime baseball executive Paul DePodesta of Moneyball fame away from the New York Mets and place him in a heavy hitter’s role within their Harvard-flavored front office.
The Browns named DePodesta their chief strategy officer on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after they announced owner Jimmy Haslam had fired coach Mike Pettine and General Manager Ray Farmer. DePodesta will provide input in all areas of the franchise’s football side, including the player personnel, player development, high performance and analytics departments.
DePodesta, a noted analytics expert with a degree in economics from Harvard, will report directly to Haslam as will new executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown, a Harvard Law School graduate promoted Sunday from executive vice president/general counsel and given final say on the 53-man roster.