Reports say Browns coaches to push for Jimmy Haslam to bring in a talent evaluator

Early in December, Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer hinted that the Cleveland Browns needed to hire a football GM type of candidate to add to, but not replace, the current front office.

This morning, on the first day of 2017 and the final week of the NFL regular season, we’ve got two national reports indicating the Browns will add some figure to the front office. One report is more drastic-sounding and comes from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports:

The Browns' coaches have deep concerns with the direction of the personnel department, according to numerous team and league sources, and will discuss the matter with Haslam soon. While coach Hue Jackson is not planning to request the removal of top football man Sashi Brown, or the influential analytics department he has built, the sources said there will be a strong push to ownership to reconsider the flow chart. The coaches would like a proven, old-school talent evaluator involved in player selection to provide checks and balances with the current setup.

Here is what Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported:

The Browns still believe in coach Hue Jackson, even if it turns out to be a one-win season. Owner Jimmy Haslam still believes in the analytical-based approach of their higher-ups. But the Browns are said to be searching for a little more scouting muscle. The expectation is for Cleveland to hire a top scout, likely right below GM Sashi Brown, to serve as the main football voice and be charged with finding the kind of players Jackson covets.

I’m always a believer that hiring a “top scout” type of guy can only disrupt the upcoming draft selection process, because that person would probably clash with the groupthink that has already been in place for however many months. So there is a risk in bringing in a top guy like that with respect to disrupting the relationship between the front office and the coaching staff; although Sashi Brown still maintaining the final say could alleviate my concerns.

One thing that jumps out at me is, “what would this mean for Andrew Berry?” Isn’t he already supposed to be the top scouting guy below Brown?