It may have taken longer than expected, but it appears the Cleveland Browns finally have a new general manager. And he happens to be a familiar face.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Browns have finalized a five-year deal to make Andrew Berry their new general manager and executive vice president of football operations. Berry, of course, is no stranger to Northeast Ohio, having served as Cleveland’s vice president of player personnel under then-general manager Sashi Brown from 2016-18 before joining the Philadelphia Eagles as the team’s vice president of football operations in 2019.
At 32-years-old, Berry becomes the youngest general manager in NFL history.
A former Harvard cornerback, Berry has been considered an up-and-comer in the front office ranks and possesses a heavy analytics background. The Browns’ thinking in re-hiring him is that his background will pair well with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta and new Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski to create a cohesion that hasn’t otherwise existed in Cleveland’s power structure during Jimmy Haslam’s tenure as the team’s owner.
In returning to the Browns as general manager, Berry will be replacing John Dorsey, who he worked under during the team’s 2018 season. Dorsey and Cleveland mutually parted ways on Dec. 31 following the team’s disappointing 6-10 campaign in 2019, which also resulted in the firing of head coach Freddie Kitchens less than a year after he was first hired.
In addition to Berry, the Browns interviewed Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager George Paton and New England Patriots Director of College Scouting Monti Ossenfort for their general manager vacancy. Berry, however, had been considered the front-runner for the position dating back to Cleveland’s hiring of Stefanski on Jan. 12.
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