Browns deserve credit for strong record in area of minority hiring
During Jimmy and Dee Haslam’s tenure as Browns’ owners, the franchise has made its mark largely for its dysfunction, constant drama and a lack of continuity.
But it has stepped to the forefront of the league in one regard.
Since the Haslams assumed control in October 2012, the Browns have built a strong record on diversity hiring.
They have chosen five heads of football operations and three of them — Sashi Brown, Ray Farmer and Andrew Berry — are African American. They brought in a black coach in Hue Jackson. The fact that only Berry is currently employed by the Browns should not overshadow the fact that they have tried to rectify a league problem that is constantly discussed but never improved.
When he introduced coach Kevin Stefanski on Jan. 14, Jimmy Haslam cited their strong support of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, comprised of scouts, coaches and front office personnel in the NFL along with professionals in other leagues dedicated to equal opportunity. The organization used to be run by former Browns guard John Wooten.
“John Wooten ... (is) a great friend of ours, we talk frequently,” Haslam said that day.
Not all of their interaction has been friendly. Wooten was reportedly “livid” when Haslam fired Brown and hired John Dorsey as general manager in December 2017, accusing the Browns in a USA Today article of circumventing the Rooney Rule and failing to interview a minority candidate. The Browns said they talked to Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley, now senior vice president of football operations for the XFL.
Haslam had a chance to select another minority coach after interviewing San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, an Arab-American of Lebanese descent, but instead chose Stefanski last month.
But the Browns made another splash on the diversity front when they brought back Berry, 32, as the youngest GM in NFL history.
Berry appeared on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday in a nearly five-minute feature segment. While the piece didn’t make mention of the Browns’ stance on minority hiring, it could put Berry in the spotlight of that crusade.
“I don’t know that I thought a ton about that,” Berry said Tuesday afternoon about his increased visibility in regards to the issue. “I haven’t seen it yet.”
Stefanski had, and he touted Berry’s rapid rise since he broke into the league as an Indianapolis Colts scouting assistant in 2009. Berry was the Browns’ vice president for player personnel for three seasons starting in 2016, but spent 2019 as the vice president of football operations for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It was awesome. He doesn’t want to watch it, he’s a little too embarrassed,” Stefanski said of the “Today” piece. “I think it’s amazing what he’s been able to accomplish in 32 years on this earth. It speaks to the person he is, a man of faith, a man of intelligence — he’s got it all.”
On the job for nearly seven weeks, Stefanski has also begun to make his mark in improving the Browns’ diversity. He selected Callie Brownson as his chief of staff and has hired seven minority assistants, including defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
“I am going to do everything in my power and my role to affect change there,” Stefanski said during his introductory press conference. “It is something that I brought up when I met with Dee and Jimmy last year, and it is important to me that we develop minority coaches, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Last year in Minnesota, we hired two African
American quality control coaches on the offensive side ... That is the way that I can affect that change.”
Two quality control hires were African Americans, Seitu Smith (offense) and Stephen Bravo-Brown (defense), while T.C. McCartney (offense) is of Samoan descent. Bravo-Brown worked with Stefanski in Minnesota in 2017 on a Bill Walsh NFL diversity coaching fellowship.
In a league whose players have generally been about 70% black, the NFL has three African American head coaches — Miami’s Brian Flores, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and San Diego’s Anthony Lynn — and one Hispanic — Washington’s Ron Rivera. The league high was eight coaches of color, last seen in 2018.
Former Browns Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome became the NFL’s first black general manager when he was promoted in 2002 after the team moved to Baltimore. Berry is currently one of only two African Americans holding that title, joining Chris Grier of the Miami Dolphins.
That doesn’t set well with many. Jason Reid of ESPN’s The Undefeated wrote earlier this week that league representatives were to meet with members of the Fritz Pollard Alliance during the NFL Scouting Combine and more such sessions are planned for this year.
“In terms of what can be done and what can be promoted, I think part of this is exposure,” Berry said in his introductory press conference Feb. 5. “There are tons of talented executives across the NFL that fit different demographic profiles, whether it is age or race or even gender at this point in time. I think certainly part of it is just increasing awareness.”
Berry’s “Today” interview should do that. And if his run in Cleveland is long, Berry could find himself in a similar position as Cavaliers’ five-time All-Star Kevin Love, who became the face of professional athletes’ mental health issues when he wrote an essay for The Players Tribune in 2018.
While a thriving NFL searches for ways to improve diversity, the Browns’ efforts put them at the top in terms of their determination to rectify the disturbing numbers. Amid the madness in Berea, that should count in an important way.
‘I think it’s amazing what he’s been able to accomplish in 32 years on this earth. It speaks to the person he is’
Kevin Stefanski
Browns coach on Andrew Berry