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Crimson fans can add another color to their wardrobe.
As of a few weeks ago, the Cleveland Browns have emerged as a possible darling of the student body, filling their front office with a selection of Harvard graduates. Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Andrew Berry compose what is likely the most intriguing management in professional football—and, perhaps, a new bandwagon team for Crimson fans.
Admittedly, yes, these are the same Cleveland Browns who ended the season with a 3-13 record, marking the fifth-consecutive year with a last-place finish in the AFC North. Yes, these are the Browns who haven’t made the playoffs since 2002—who haven’t won a championship since 1964 or ever, depending on your definition of championship (the first Super Bowl took place in 1967.)
But Crimson supporters have good reason to pay attention to a Browns organization that is suddenly dominated by Harvard degrees.
First, on January 3, it was Sashi Brown. A graduate of the Law School, the 39-year-old Brown was promoted from his role as general counsel to become vice president of football operations. In this capacity, he will have final say over personnel decisions, including whom to draft and include on the 53-man roster.
Three days later, the Browns sent ripples across the sports world by snatching up Paul DePodesta as their chief strategy officer.
Previously DePodesta had served as the vice president of scouting and player development for baseball’s New York Mets, helping the organization to its first World Series appearance in 15 years.
More previously he had worked for the Oakland Athletics and advised general manager Billy Beane on the importance of analytics. This sabremetric revolution was dramatized in Moneyball; Jonah Hill played DePodesta.
But even more previously, DePodesta attended Harvard. He had played both football and baseball, lived in Cabot House, and graduated in 1995 with a degree in Economics.
With the Browns, he will hold a flexible management role, promoting analytic efforts and confronting any organizational inefficiencies.
The Harvard-heavy front office was completed on Wednesday when the Browns announced the hiring of Andrew Berry as the vice president of player personnel.
Not to be confused with Professor Andrew Berry, a specialist of evolutionary biology at the College, this 28-year-old Berry graduated from Harvard in 2009 with a simultaneous bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in computer science.
By that point, he had also compiled an impressive resume on the gridiron, starting for four years as a cornerback and earning a slew of awards: All-Ivy team three times and All-American twice.
Although he had hopes of playing for an NFL team, a herniated disk in his back curtailed that ambition. Instead he transitioned to a staff role, reportedly turning down an offer from Goldman Sachs to accept a scouting job with the Indianapolis Colts.
Less than a decade later, he has arrived in Ohio as one of the youngest executives in the league.
The Crimson trio of Brown, DePodesta, and Berry offers an unusual combination as the Browns look to recuperate from their three-win campaign. Joining the Harvard brain trust will be a new coach: Hue Jackson, previously the offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jackson has developed a reputation as a more traditional leader—someone who interacts well with players and values in-game instincts. It remains to be seen whether this classic approach can thrive alongside the rigorous statistics of DePodesta and company.
At least for now, though, there has hardly been a better chance to strut around campus wearing a Browns jersey. What strange times we live in.
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