Mets’ DePodesta Leaves For NFL’s Browns

Paul DePodesta, a front office baseball executive since 1997 and most recently the Mets’ vice president of scouting and player development, is changing teams—and sports.

DePodesta has been hired by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns as chief strategy officer, the team said Tuesday. According to a team news release, DePodesta will be responsible for assessing and implementing best practices and strategies that will provide the organization with the comprehensive resources needed to make optimal decisions.

He and new general manager Sashi Brown—a Harvard graduate like DePodesta—will report to owner Jimmy Haslam.

“We are fortunate to bring in Paul, an extremely talented, highly respected sports executive who will add a critical dimension to our front office,” Haslam said in a news release. “His approach and ambition to find the best pathways for organizational success transcend one specific sport and his experience as a high level sports executive make him a terrific addition to the Cleveland Browns.

“Paul has invaluable experience in management and leadership with a number of highly successful sports teams,” Brown said in a news release. “His ability to create better processes and systems throughout organizations, his use of data as a tool to produce better outcomes, and his relentless focus on looking for innovative ways to create more success will be a strong asset as we look to be as comprehensive as possible in our decision making.”

DePodesta has been with the Mets since 2011, first as assistant to GM Sandy Alderson, whom he worked with in Oakland and San Diego.

“Working with Sandy, Paul put into process a new approach toward player development throughout our organization. Ownership and all of us at the Mets thank Paul for his tireless efforts. We look forward to seeing Paul’s continued success with the Browns,” Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement.

DePodesta has been thought of as the most likely heir to Alderson, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

“Paul completely reorganized the Mets scouting and player development functions and had an extraordinary impact in both areas, but he was also very directly involved in our trade and free agent acquisitions. His commitment to excellence and his passion for innovation will be missed by the Mets and all of Baseball. I wish him well with the Browns,” Alderson said in a statement.

DePodesta, 43, played wide receiver at Harvard and broke into baseball as an assistant in baseball operations with the Indians.

“Cleveland and football have always held a special place in my heart,” he said in a news release. “It was 20 years ago this month, after pursing my first love of football and looking at every possible job in the NFL, that I got the biggest break I could imagine—a job offer from the American League Champion Cleveland Indians. As excited as I was then, I am even more excited now to return to Cleveland and to try to help the Browns.”

DePodesta’s cross-sports move is not without precedent as longtime college and pro football coach Lou Saban worked as president of the New York Yankees in 1981 for George Steinbrenner, who was a friend of Saban.