Front office hoping to work Packers magic

The Browns have officially turned the page on the ill-fated Sashi Brown era by adding another experienced football executive to the front office.

Eliot Wolf, highly regarded during 14 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, was hired on Jan. 10 as the Browns assistant general manager, the Browns announced. He will work under General Manager John Dorsey, who was hired five weeks ago when the Browns fired Brown as executive vice president of football operations. Brown had no prior experience evaluating players before January 2016 when he was put in charge of the entire football operation.

The Browns also got around to officially announcing Alonzo Highsmith is the team’s new vice president of player personnel. Highsmith was hired more than a week ago.

“We’re lucky to add Alonzo and Eliot to our personnel staff,” Dorsey said in a statement. “Alonzo’s 25 years of experience in the National Football League as a player, scout and personnel executive give him a unique perspective when it comes to evaluating talent and building a team. Alonzo and I share the same passion for this great game of football. We are going to set out to find talented football players that possess that same passion for the game.

“Eliot has been a fine executive in this league for some time now. It’s been great to watch him grow up around this league when I was with him in Green Bay and from afar for the last five-plus years. He’s been a big reason for the consistent success the Packers have experienced over the last decade. Adding Eliot and Alonzo to our personnel

leadership group, that already includes Andrew Berry, will strengthen us and help us develop into the type of personnel department we need to achieve the success our great fans deserve.”

The Browns also announced they have parted ways with Ryan Griggson, who had the title of senior personnel executive in his only season with the Browns after being fired by the Colts as their general manager.

Wolf, 35, was being courted by the Oakland Raiders, where he would have been working alongside Reggie McKenzie, another former Packer executive with whom Wolf worked in Green Bay. A day earlier, the Raiders hired Jon Gruden to be their head coach.

Dorsey and Wolf, son of former Packers General Manager Ron Wolf, worked together for nine years in Green Bay. Dorsey also worked with the elder Wolf a total of 10 years in Green Bay.

“I’m so thankful for this opportunity and I’m really excited about joining the Cleveland Browns organization,” Wolf said in a statement. “I really like the direction of where leadership is headed. We’re going

to build this team the right way and to be a part of that from the ground up is going to be special.”

Highsmith, a former NFL running back with the Houston Oilers, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has spent the past 19 years in the Packers’ personnel department. He was a college scout for 13 years until he was promoted to personnel executive in 2012.

“This is going to be an exciting challenge,” Highsmith said. “It’s great to reunite with John Dorsey. He’s someone I’ve looked up to and has always been a mentor to me. We had great success together in Green Bay and we both understand the hard work it takes to create a winning environment.

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be part of something special. Some of my fondest memories in football were playing the Browns in the playoffs one year (while with the Oilers) and the fans throwing dog bones at us so we had to turn around and play that series at the opposite end zone. I believe in the Haslams (owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam), Coach (Hue) Jackson and John, and I’m looking forward

to helping build the type of team Cleveland Browns fans will be proud of.”

The Packers earned 13 trips to the playoffs, nine NFC North division titles and a victory in Super Bowl XLV from 1999 to 2017. They won 304 games, fourth-most in the NFL during that span. The Packers also ranked second in the NFL with an average of 25.3 points per game from 1999 to 2017. Highsmith was there that entire 19-year run. Dorsey (20002012) and Eliot (2004-17) were there for part of it.

Dorsey is not confining his raiding to the Packers. The former Chiefs GM (2013-June 2017) has also added three former members of the front office in Kansas City to the Browns’ personnel department.

Jimmy Noel was named assistant director of pro scouting, Matt Donahoe as scout and Dan Zegers as personnel coordinator. Noel, Donahoe and Zegers all previously spent time in the Chiefs personnel department.

Ken Kovash, who has served as vice president of player personnel for the last two seasons with the Browns, will transition to a vice president role in the club’s strategy department.