30 NFL agents were surveyed about GM's and prominent front office personnel.
Q: Who do you trust the most?
3 GM's received multiple votes
Chris Ballard (Colts)
John Snyder (Seahawks)
Andrew Berry (Browns)
Q: Who is the smartest?
5 GM's received multiple votes
Howie Roseman (Eagles)
Chris Ballard (Colts)
Bill Belichick (Pats)
Andrew Berry (Browns)
Brett Veach (Chiefs)
Q: What team had the best off season?
Bucs
Phins
Browns
Colts
Agent quote: "He (Andrew Berry) already has the Browns on a great path"
Have no idea if/when this translates into success, but it's not a bad thing to hear about our general manager.
In a related thought, there is little chance AB trades Njoku when The Chief sits at the bottom of his value.
(HT: ESPN Radio, talking about an article on The Athletic)
BTW, the "trust the least" list is
Elway - “Don’t hate him, but don’t respect him ... He has to win every negotiation. It sucks dealing with him."
Belichick - “The Patriot Way is hard to deal with. Double cross.”
Bill O'Brian - “Just talks out of both sides of his mouth. I don’t believe a word he says.”
Roseman - “Just look at his career path. He’s pretty much pulled the rug out from underneath everybody that ever got close to him in Philly. And when he does, Howie’s gonna do his best for Howie. He’s proven that year after year after year.”
Mike Brown - “I just don’t agree with the way that they do things. I think they’re good people. I just think that when you’ve got four people running a staff when there are other teams with 25 to 40, it’s really hard to do your job and be 100 percent accurate on some things.”
Vikings - “While they’re talking to me on the phone about a free-agent client, they drafted someone at that position after saying they wouldn’t.”
Glad to see the trend is going the other way, was it Sashi as GM where we were not very well regarded?
I won't hesitate for a nano second: It's not just a good thing, it's one of the BEST things. The way an organization is perceived around the league (and agent dishing is a great source) is ENORMOUS for its long-term prospects and viability.
Aside from that coach-QB epicenter, next up for me is not just the day to day gradable performance of your head dude, your GM, but also how he's perceived. So much of this business IS business, and those head-scratching personnel moves often come down to human nature: The people on the other side of the table were inclined to not like you, trust you, or feel your message...
So you made shit up to explain it and we all just kinda moved on. Berry is that fairly rare combo of insanely smart... but not a dick. Same for Stefanski and Baker. I love the head of this table so much.
I tried to post this the other day in MG thread, but it deleted. The fact that AB is steady, reliable, and did the contract with MG is going to be a long term benefit for the Browns. Instead of having agents steer players away from the Browns, they will steer them towards the Browns....knowing their player will be dealt a fair hand and have a real chance of a good/long term contract.
This, to me, is one of the biggest changes for the Browns. This is the type of thing that keeps a team on top for decades instead of a year or two.
One of the main reasons I was against the hiring of Berry and, to a lesser extent, Stefanski was due to their inexperience. It felt like the same mistakes we had previously made with Sashi Brown and Freddie Kitchens. Give the position to an up-and-comer but shudder when their inexperience resulted in mistakes or outright poor decision making. We coveted the rising star but wouldn't tolerate their need for growth and the inevitable mistakes on that path.
What I never anticipated was the cool, calm and collected approach of both Berry and Stefanski. There is wisdom and rationality in their approach. Nobody is overthinking, or reaching, or trying to do too much. Every move has made sense, every move has been a fair move for both the player and the organisation, and everything has just objectively been the right decision (at the time of the decision being made) for making the team better. It is hard to comprehend that our first time, youngest GM in NFL history and our first time coach appear to have addressed starting needs and depth in one offseason without going crazy in free agency, or reaching on prospects, or trading away the entire draft to accumulate selections. It is hard to make a case we didn't take the best player on the board who also fits a clear need. It is impossible to say we gave out bad deals in free agency. It is hard to say the team has positioned itself to quit on potentially real talent simply because the talent was drafted by a previous regime.
You could be forgiven for thinking Berry and Stefanski have been doing this together for a very long time. I'm not shocked they have quickly made an impression on everyone, even bloodthirsty agents who care not for the success of our franchise. The praise is merely the consequence of good practice. It seems we finally have decision makers who are committed to doing things the right way and have a willingness to not make the easy decisions hard.
BDU! Good to see you here, mate! 🍻 Totally agree with you on Berry and Stef. All their videos have an assured authenticity that I like. There doesn't seem to be bluster. My favorite move might be the very cool, calm, collected way that they kept OV despite the "obvious" move to let him go. I have to imagine that type of faith in players pays dividends, especially in a locker room. Paying young guys AND paying veterans who are doing the right thing? Huge for this organization.
OMG, it's like a farging all-star team here. I should have to pay for this. You get these guys posting like BDU just did, like Ocon does, like Dama and Brooksie and EE and so on, it's better than a Browns Bleacher Report, by a long ways. Nice. And then a dude like Grimm drops his smart, distinctive stuff on us. Love it.
Reminder: Can somebody poke Alo on the other board? I wouldn't go there if I got accidentally sober and they were pouring free 94 point Gran Reserva.
My two cents: Experience and maturity don't always come to people at the same time. The wisdom of experience is real, no doubt, but maturity is a trait you can see in a 13-year-old. My director friend tells of casting Claire Danes in "My So Called Life," and how he instantly knew she was more "mature" than him, at least by his sense of the word. Her prism was more confident and complete.
He was about 55 then.
Yeah I won't be wandering over to those parts but if I do, I'll shoot him a DM. I'm pretty sure they never banned me, just revoked my power hahaha