Cleveland Browns hiring Callie Brownson continues to push diversity

With the hiring of female coach Callie Brownson, I believe it is time to talk about Cleveland Browns’ commitment to diversity.

Diversity is a hot topic this year in the National Football League. The issue was brought to the forefront by the staggering lack of persons of color occupying head coaching and front office jobs in the league currently. Less than a week ago the Cleveland Browns hired 32-year-old Andrew Berry as their general manager and vice president of football operations.

Not only is Berry the youngest person to hold the job in NFL history, but he’s also one of only two current African American general managers in the league.

The Browns, though turbulent at best, have had a great recent history of diversity hires, especially since returning in 1999. The “new” Browns first named offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie interim head coach in 2004, replacing resigning coach Butch Davis.

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While Robiskie was not named full-time head coach at seasons end, he was retained on staff by new coach Romeo Crennel. Crennel would coach the team from 2005-2008.

Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Ray Farmer served as the team’s general manager from 2014-2015 after being promoted from assistant GM. While his tenure ended in controversial fashion, with a sideline texting scandal, Farmer was another person of color occupying an important role with the Browns.

The next season saw the hiring of Cincinnati Bengals OC Hue Jackson. Unfortunately for the Browns, Jackson oversaw the worst two year stretch in modern NFL history as the Browns went a staggering 1-31 over the 2016-2017 seasons. Jackson was fired after a 2-5-1 start to the 2018 season. Despite the turmoil, one thing has remained, the Browns hiring progress has been open to all.

The Cleveland Browns continued their diversity progress in a groundbreaking way on Friday as the team hired former Buffalo Bills and New York Jets intern Callie Brownson. The George Mason alum was the first-ever full-time woman coach in an NCAA D-1 football program.

She played professional football from 2010-17 as part of the D.C. Divas in the Women’s Football Alliance. Brownson played both running back, slot receiver, and safety for D.C. and helped lead the team to two championships. Brownson was also a member of the 2013 and 2017 United States IFAF Women’s World Championship Gold Medal teams.

It would be a massive disservice to view the Mount Vernon, Virginia native as merely a diversity hire. Callie Brownson has a career full of credentials. In fact, Browns’ head coach Kevin Stefanski sees her as a future NFL head coach. That factor is one of many that pushed Stefanski to pursue her for this role, which will be similar to the role Stefanski originally served under then Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

Per the Browns’ press release, Stefanski remarked:

"“Callie is uniquely situated where she can go interact with football ops or PR or the locker room or the equipment room. She’s really the liaison to the rest of the building for me. I think she’s a go-getter. She’s self-motivated. She’s going to put all of her energy into this gig. What’s exciting for me is ultimately I want to develop young coaches. She’s someone that has worked on the offensive side of the ball, worked on special teams, has a great knowledge of the game and I want to let her expand that knowledge and develop her as a head coach.” — Stefanski, via Andrew Gribble"

The exciting part for Brownson is that she is able to be involved in all aspects of the team from, offense, defense, special teams, and even the front office. This will create an extremely valuable experience for the 30-year-old as she continues to build her coaching resume. Brownson’s hire should provide another valuable step towards more women earning meaningful coaching jobs in the NFL.

While there have been many moments worthy of criticism for both current and past Browns ownership groups, they deserve more credit than most for the ever-flowing wealth of diversity hires. In a league where the Rooney rule has become a mockery often misused, the Browns have not only helped ensure diversity hires but helped push the league into new ground with female coaches.

I, for one, hope this is the beginning of a larger movement. Women have long deserved a big role in both college and professional football. I’m proud to get to cover one of the teams helping make that a reality.