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The Cleveland Browns may be on the cusp of announcing their next head coach, which means it is time to start working on hiring a general manager.
Which is what the Browns are currently doing, according to Senior NFL Reporter Albert Breer:
The Browns have started reference checks and working on permission on GM candidates, per sources. The plan all along has been to pick the coach, and find a GM to pair him with.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2020
So Cleveland's working on Step 2 of its process.
That is in line with what co-owner Jimmy Haslam said in the wake of the team firing general manager John Dorsey, according to clevelandbrowns.com:
“We are going to hire the coach first and then we will do the GM search. The coach will be involved in that process but will not have the final say. [The head coach] will not have the final say but will be heavily involved in that process.”
As the club has interviewed candidates for the head coaching position, it is likely that they have also been collecting names of potential general managers to interview and pair up with the person they eventually hire as the head coach.
Just who the Browns are talking to for the general manager position is unknown, but with speculation that the decision on the head coach might be down to either New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or Minnesota Vikings coordinator Kevin Stefanski, there are a few names that fans should keep an eye on.
If the choice is McDaniels, then the Browns could be looking at Nick Caserio, who has been New England’s director of player personnel since 2008, or Dave Ziegler, who has been New England’s director of pro scouting since 2016.
If Stefanski is the choice, then Andrew Berry, currently the vice president of football operations with the Philadelphia Eagles, may make a return to the Browns after working as vice president of player personnel from 2016 to 2018.
The situation should become clearer once the Browns actually make a decision on the head coach.