DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Paul DePodesta Leaving the Browns

Paul DePodesta finally wanted off the roller coaster ride. Curious what this may foreshadow for the rest of the triumvirate.

Where's mac!? For him this is a cause for celebration!

The roller coaster finally stopped and Depodesta was the one that got off..how ironic!

If Haslam is gonna change the franchise's losing pattern he has to make changes in the management structure too.

The fact that Depo immediately took a job in baseball is rather telling, imo.

Who cares?

Not me.

Immediately LMAO..... Depo has been talking to Colorado for more than a month and the Browns knew he was leaving. That's sure not immediately. But I understand your just all giddy that your boogyman is gone

Personally, I'm glad we'll finally have the proper people making draft picks, bringing in FAs, calling plays, and running our strength and conditioning program.

UNLEASH THE HILL!!!

Being serious for just a moment... it certainly is possible that this is simply the first step in a VERY comprehensive FO overhaul.

FWIW, to me it just seems like DePo got another job that he's interested in and left. Even though it's easy to read his job description, I still have a hard time imagining what it is that he does on a day-to-day basis.... if he's even half as smart as he's supposed to be, I would imagine staying would be boring.

Interesting bye week:

- Kev gives up playing calling for the second year in a row
- Berry does not conduct his usual annual bye week press conference that he has done every year
- DePo leaves the Browns for the worst franchise in all of baseball

Never dull off the field in Berea.

According to many, each of these things happening (except maybe for the missing Berry PC) should be a precursor to wins.

Hiw much will him leaaving hurt the Brown? I thiunk hardly at all. Look at where we are with him. How much worse can it be?

This team made 2 huge mistakes ..... Letting Baker go in favor of the molester, and letting Alex Van Pelt go in favor of Dorsey. I don't know where these 2 things started, but they were HUGE mistakes.

I agree that I don't think it will hurt much if at all. Every major sports team has an analytics department. Be it NFL, MLB or MLB. At one time it was a more novel concept. But "most people" see how vital information can be gained through analytics. As many people as there are now in analytics it shouldn't be that hard to replace as it once was.

Analytics is a powerful tool that can be used to greatly help coaches find trends and tendencies they might have missed. It's not really meant to be the "controlling factor" in my opinion though. We don't know how much Paul had control over the Browns. Perhaps he had a good bit of control or perhaps he was just a tool being used for the sake or research and giving a leg up. We don't know and we will probably never know. Either way, I am sure it was not used effectively by the Browns at all because too many of their decisions made absolutely no sense at all.

Perhaps this will set Andrew and Kevin free to do things they have been wanting to do things but were held back. Perhaps Paul just got tired of trying to help them and being ignored. Will we ever know? Maybe. If Andrew and Kevin are still in the building when the next draft happens I think it reveals volumes.

Since Andrew Berry is the Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager, would it be a demotion for Berry to become the Chief of Strategy and Development?

If Haslam were to hire a "football GM," who would you recommend? Most of the better teams, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and San Francisco, invest heavily in analytics. What successful NFL team or teams are currently succeeding with a "football GM?"

Some of us do know.

Psssttt Mac David Jenkins is STILL President off the Browns. But at least now we know you think Wikipedia is a legit source LMAO

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/front-office-roster/

I'm not sure, given the results, why any one would think this a bad thing.

Or did we win a Superbowl and I missed it? LOL

Lol you don't need to tell me who Dave is.

Hmmmm - are YOU Dave 🤣

My issue has always been focused elsewhere. Depo is clearly an incredibly smart guy - I doubt very much if he is the root cause of any of the current issues the Browns organization faces. He will *probably* be replaced by some other Analysist.

It did strike me that Baseball, while a team sport, is also more individual in nature. It's pitcher vs hitter - errors and fielding ability impact the outcome in a more minor way than a football play. Blocking, route running, defensive schemes, talent match up at every single position on the field. . . . that's not saying Analitics isn't important in the NFL. It is - every team uses. I just think it is probably more useful in baseball, or more specific/exact?

mgh888 - You are right! I am a data analyst and I use analytics and models for decision making. I have often been in the position where I have made both simple and complex analysis on data (quantitative and qualitative) and presented it to the decision makers and made my recommendations. After I turn over the data, it is up to the decision maker to choose their options. Professionally, I have seen decision makers ignore data or make the less optimal decisions based on a hope of a quick solution or somewhat positive result without the real investment in the most optimal solution.

With the Browns, there is an obvious disconnect between the analysis teams and the coaching staff (and not the front office). I think the front office and analysis team are in lock step. I think the coaching decisions (personnel use, playcalling, game management and in-game adjustments) are the areas where the Browns' are most weakest. My friends, who are analyst in sports, often say information from data often gets lost during games by coaches. I've seen a lot of coaches ignore the data and lose their jobs on "gut feelings". That act more like gamblers than decisionmakers.

So then are you suggesting that the FO is acquiring the type of players that do not fit into Stefanski's coaching scheme and trying to fit a square peg in a round hole? Why would they do that?

Hey Pit! I'm not saying that the FO is purposely picking players that don't fit the scheme. Actually, I think they are buying the groceries that the offense request, however, Stefanski does not know how to put it all together. The Gabriel pick was all Stefanski and his evaluators. As a GM, you try to give the coaching staff what they want (even though you might know better. FYi...I am not an AB apologist). In our management system, there is a collaborative, shared responsibility between the groups - where there must be some give and take. Each coaching leader (Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Special Teams Coordinator) is treated like the expert in their area of work. So when Schwartz asked for a disruptive DT, Berry got what he needed based on their team priority, grades, and value. When Stefanski wanted a young backup QB to develop, AB got him "his" dude based on Team priority in the 3rd round. I assume position priority for the Browns is usually determined by group consensus with the coaches having a big say in team need. data and coach feedback goes into scoring of players.


In other systems, the GM buys the goods and the coach needs to make the meal. These systems are hit and miss. This is why the Steelers have not won more Super Bowls since their last one. There was a disconnect between their front office and the locker room that existed for years. The Patriots used to operate like a collaborative, because they had a coach that could make it all work and a front office and analytic team that was in alignment. When Belichick officially took over the front office, the whole system fell apart. KC, The Colts, and the Eagles run a collaborate from office system. It works when everything is aligned, you just have to have a coach who puts it all together. I believe the offensive side of the ball will be top priority in next years draft and free agency. The question should be, do we trust Stefanski enough to proved important input on the functioning of the offense?

And here I thought the evaluators of the draft were the scouting department combined with the analytics department and the GM. I had no idea those were Stefanski's evaluators. What are you basing that claim on?

Stefanski meet with Gabriel out several times and saw multiple work outs in person. Gabriel was his hand chosen QB from the draft.

Surely you jest.

DG's strengths were listed as being a decisive thrower, being able to read defenses, and overall doing a good job of taking care of the football. I think DG has an underrated arm on account of not showing it off very much.

I think it's easy to see how KS would like those qualities and would be happy to spend a third to see if we can hit the lottery.

Just food for thought; who thinks this means we will use less statically driven approach? I think we have an internal division of money-ball pros. All we need now is another Hue.