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For most of the past two decades, the Cleveland Browns have exemplified what it means to be an NFL bottom feeder.
Between 2001 and 2019, the Browns experienced just two winning seasons and a rotating starting quarterback squad, a playoff berth behind coaches and front office managers. The fans attended the matches with a paper bag on their heads in embarrassment.
But that changed last season under Andrew Berry, who became the NFL’s youngest general manager at age 32 in January 2020.
Berry’s clever free agency transfers and squad management helped the Browns make it to the playoffs and made him a rising star among his peers. Now, in Berry’s second season, the Browns are seen as rivals in the AFC, an expectation the organization hasn’t felt in years.
He shared with The New York Times how he approaches his job, and discusses quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He talked about the key to the strong relationship between
The interview has been summarized and lightly edited for clarity.
You took the job just before the pandemic hit. What was it like managing your staff and putting things right in the early days?
To be honest, I think the fact that we’re a new football operations group may have played in our favor to some extent. To a large extent we were still defining our processes and how we would really build that over the spring and summer. So I think having a somewhat empty approach allows us to be quite flexible and adaptable.
How has the leadership tried to change the culture by taking it away from the discredit the Browns have historically enjoyed?
I think the biggest thing was just to have a narrow focus. We cannot control the external narrative, but what we can control and focus on is how we work and how we evolve on a daily basis. it really happened [Coach Kevin Stefanski’s] mentality and mentality of our players from the beginning. And I think that narrow focus helped because you’re right, there’s a lot of history about the organization that people like to bring up. But at the end of the day, I don’t know if it’s all about ours.
Considering that Cleveland isn’t the best destination city like Los Angeles, New York or Miami, why do you think you’re good at landing free agents?
Generally, the two most attractive leverages for freelancers in most professional sports are, in my opinion, the opportunity to contribute to a winner, and then of course the financial component. These guys are professionals. They want to win and they want to be able to support their families in a very meaningful way.
What does a typical day in the regular season look like for you?
It changes a bit, but I’m up at 5:40 every morning. I go to CrossFit class in the morning before I go to the office. And then every morning, I get my daily briefing with our player personnel coordinator, and then we actually go to the races on various team or roster related topics until the afternoon practice. Then I try to get home to put my kids to sleep, usually anywhere between 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM. I think the challenging and fun part of the job is that there is so much variety, both weekly and daily. No two days are the same, but it’s also the excitement of a position.
How do you try to balance your work while raising your young children?
I just think it’s really prioritized. At the end of the day, nothing will come before my family. In these jobs, really calling it balance may not be the point, but make sure you prioritize what’s really important in both phases. Also, realizing that with family demands first and then an almost 24/7 job, that means sacrifices in other areas of leisure and hobby, which is good. But starting a family is probably the most rewarding experience of my life. And then, being the general manager of an NFL team is right up there.
You are the youngest general manager in NFL history, and only four of your league peers are Black. Do you feel any additional pressure?
In terms of printing, I don’t really focus on that. These jobs are stressful and there is enough to deal with without putting extra stress or pressure on yourself. I’m just trying to be myself. I guess in terms of the idea of diversity. I think that, in general, if you have people from different backgrounds and probably most importantly, different ways of thinking and different experiences, that enriches the league. That’s good because then you see different – and sometimes better and more creative – solutions to solving different problems, and in the general manager’s case, it builds a team.
Many people say that the way to bring in more diverse candidates is to give them more visibility and opportunity. How did you see this game in your career?
I think he was exposed to different decision makers. I feel very lucky to have had many bosses throughout my career. [former General Manager] Ryan Grigson of Indianapolis who gave me exposure to the ownership group in Indianapolis or [Eagles General Manager] Howie Roseman in Philly gave me exposure to the ownership group there. Or [former Browns General Manager] Sashi Brown really made me see the Haslam family here during my first visit. I think having people, whether in the league office or at your current club, who are willing to be mentors for your career and allow the people who make or will make these hiring decisions become familiar with candidates on both a personal and professional level — I think that can only improve the process.
You didn’t care about vaccine headlines like other teams. What have you done to ensure that players are comfortable with getting vaccinated or not being frank about their disapproval?
I think there are really two things. I think #1, we did our best to educate not just our players but everyone in the organization about the health and safety benefits of getting vaccinated and the benefits the league offers for vaccinated versus unvaccinated individuals. . Secondly, I think we didn’t want this to be an issue that would divide our team. Spring and boot camp, this was supposed to be a cohesive experience as a team, and we realized that getting the vaccine could be politicized as people might have strong opinions about these sides, which is not something we wanted. to break up our group. But we really did our best to train as well as we could. And we started very, very, very early in the spring.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield and forward Odell Beckham Jr. weren’t looking as productive as people had expected before Beckham was injured last season. Do you expect them to get better this season because Beckham is healthy?
I think they already have a very good relationship. I think part of the challenge from last year is that you set up a whole new system with a number of different individuals. I think our passing game in general probably started mid-season. I think only part of it is task time, right? It’s a place where guys get to the point where they really understand the offense and it’s much more instinctive in terms of how they work with them. You work with the offensive schema as opposed to having to think about the concept or how to implement it. And I think it comes with a little more natural synergy and unfortunately we didn’t have Odell for that period. But we feel really good about Baker’s relationship with him and all our other buyers.
How does Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s contract extension affect your discussions with Mayfield’s rep about a new deal?
I’m not really talking about contracts or personal circumstances, but we are aware of all contracts in all positional markets and how they can affect a particular situation and how that applies to any of our individual players.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned in your first year on the job that will prepare you for the future?
I really don’t know if I know much more about what to expect. But I actually think that’s the biggest thing. I think the unexpected things that come up during the year and especially crisis management or decision making in an uncertain environment are huge. I think the biggest thing is to provide a higher level of flexibility. You can try and plan for weeks, months, days, or different situations, but no two days are alike. Being flexible and adaptable and really being able to take things as they come – this was actually probably one of the biggest things I learned during my first year and really just having the mindset of just being a problem solver every day.
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