The Browns had General Manager John Dorsey in place when they hired Freddie Kitchens as their head coach last year, but they’ll do things differently after firing both men in the last few days.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said at a Thursday press conference that the team’s next head coach will have a say in a “collaborative” process that will determine Dorsey’s replacement. He said the G.M. will have control of the 53-man roster and the coach will control the gameday roster with both reporting to him.
Haslam confirmed that chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta will be both stay in place and lead the search for the next head coach. Haslam said that the team is focused on coaches with NFL experience right now. That conflicts with a report that the team has strong interest in former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer as he has never coached on the professional level.
Former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy interviewed on Thursday and Haslam promised a “thorough” search for the fifth head coach to be hired since he purchased the team.
“We feel terrible about what’s happened, but more determined than ever to get this right,” Haslam said.
Haslam said he thinks the team has a young, talented roster and doesn’t think didn’t a new G.M. will want to make big changes to the roster ahead of the 2020 season. That makes sense, but there’s still much to play out as the Browns chart yet another new course.