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We are on the eve of AFC and NFC Championship Sunday. About 10 months ago, Cleveland Browns fans had “what if” aspirations of the Browns still being in contention around this time of year — but we all know how the season actually unfolded, meaning we’re dealing with another year of finding a new coaching staff and a general manager.
As of Saturday, here is a recap of the latest we know about the open searches for the Browns’ general manager role.
General Manager
The favorite for the job seems to be former Browns VP of Player Personnel Andrew Berry, who was with the organization from 2016 to 2018 before making a move over to the Philadelphia Eagles.
At 32 years old, taking on a general manager job would be a quick rise to stardom, one that would be tempting to Berry to take. As Zac Jackson of The Athletic points out, though, in the NFL, while coaches may get multiple cracks at a job, general managers often get just one chance. Given the turnover that has happened in Cleveland under Jimmy Haslam, does Berry want to take on that risk this early in his career? I think Berry will still be the guy — he interviewed on Friday — but it’s something for him to think about.
Eagles’ VP of Football Ops Andrew Berry is interviewing for the Browns’ GM job today. Look for Berry to interview with Carolina after the draft if the GM job in Cleveland doesn't happen.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 17, 2020
On Friday, the Browns also interviewed New England Patriots Director of College Scouting Monti Ossenfort for the general manager job. Cleveland also reportedly is trying to interview Minnesota Vikings assistant GM George Paton. However, travel bans are in effect due to a big snowstorm, so the interview hasn’t happened yet. Paton and Stafanski were with the Vikings’ organization together for a long time and would represent the time of alignment Cleveland is seeking.
The other candidate who the Browns reportedly showed interest in was Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds; but he declined the interview after his connection (Robert Saleh) was not hired as the Browns’ head coach.
At this point, the Browns don’t feel a need to rush their GM search, but would like to have it wrapped up in the next week and a half.