Cleveland Browns building diverse organization
Browns leadership: head coach and general manager
Diversity in the coaching staff does mean hiring African Americans, but it also has to do with many other things. For example, the Browns have added their first female coach to the staff, in Callie Brownson, who is now the Chief of Staff for Kevin Stefanski.
Brownson had a seven-year career as a player for the D. C. Divas of the Woman’s Football Alliance, where she played safety and running back and helped the team with two WFA championships. She was an assistant coach at Dartmouth College and also interned with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. With Dartmouth, she has an Ivy League connection as do Stefanski (Penn), Berry (Harvard), and Paul DePodesta (Harvard).
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The Browns have not been shy about African American head coaches, either. Starting with interim head coach Terry Robiskie in 2004, the Browns have also had Romeo Crennel (24-40, with a 10-6 season in 2007 that was the best season the new Browns ever had), and Hue Jackson (3-36-1). Crennel was the longest-tenured coach this century, although that is not saying much because the Browns seem to be always firing the coach.
In the front office, the Browns’ Andrew Berry is one of only two African American General Managers in the NFL today. The other is Chris Grier of the Miami Dolphins. Previously, the Browns had hired Ray Farmer and Sashi Brown.
A name worth watching is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, vice president of football operations, who is a graduate of Princeton and has a Master’s degree in Economics from Stanford University. For the 49ers, his job title was director of football research and development at San Francisco 49ers.
Lifelong Browns fan Eric Jordan, former producer of the “Browns in Our Blood” podcast, was asked whether he is encouraged about the direction the organization has taken.
"“The Browns are out in front on this,” It’s good that the Browns have signed Callie Brownson as Chief of Staff. That is huge. It’s not even about being black or white, so much as the perception that you have to belong to a certain mindset or old boy mentality in order to be considered for a position on the coaching staff or front office. It may be that this is changing with Callie Brownson and Andrew Berry and for that reason I am really rooting for them both to succeed.”"
On the other hand, the Browns see value in wise, experienced football heads as well. They have hired former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, a former defensive end who stood 6-foot-6 and weight 290 lbs in his playing days. Grigson is himself a former whiz kid who turned around a 2-14 Colts team to go 11-5, 11-5, 11-5, 8-8, and 8-8. That’s a very solid resume for the Browns. The Browns are building with young, smart minds but they also have “old school” experience as well.
Overall, the Browns have sought to broaden the platform for creating a front office and coaching staff. The realization is that there is a lot of talent out there, and the team needlessly limits itself when it insists on a narrow social profile for candidates it is willing to consider.