Report: Browns Request Permission to Interview Eagles' Andrew Berry for GM Job

The Cleveland Browns are still in the market for a new general manager and head coach after firing John Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens.

A new candidate emerged for the GM gig Saturday, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Cleveland requested permission to speak with Philadelphia Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry.

The VP had a seven-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts from 2009-15, working up the ranks to pro scouting coordinator.

Berry was the Browns' vice president of player personnel from 2016-18 before joining the Eagles staff under general manager Howie Roseman.

The former Harvard cornerback was an All-Ivy League selection on three occasions. He graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's in economics and a master's in computer science.

Berry could form a tag team with Browns head coaching candidate and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, which Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports and Albert Breer of The MMQB reported:

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com also provided more context in regards to the Browns' coaching search a year ago, which netted Kitchens over other candidates, including Stefanski:

"Berry and Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta both favored Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski over Kitchens, and DePodesta has a chance to land Stefanski this time around.

"Berry would pair well with Stefanski, whom he got to know during the search, and other candidates on the Browns' list, a source said. He'll likely also have other GM opportunities besides the Browns'."

The connection between Berry and Stefanski is clear, as both seemingly embrace an analytical approach. Berry noted how he has applied his computer science background to his football life in an interview with Harvard communications manager Adam Zewe:

"When you are thinking of acquiring talent and managing talent on a roster, a lot of it is like pricing risk. Machine learning techniques and data are having more of an impact in all the different spaces of football operations. My background has really aided me in terms of being able to speak multiple languages with the decision makers and the analysts, and it has enabled me to be of help with the general strategy in terms of building a team."

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (h/t Scott Patsko of Cleveland.com) said last year that Stefanski was "real young but big into analytics."

AJ Mansour of KFAN in Minneapolis (h/t Matthew Florjancic of WKYC) reported the following about Stefanski on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima:

"He's going to be a player's coach. He's going to be a front-office coach because he's deep into analytics, so he's got that new-school kind of vibe, but he's not as creative as some of the Kyle Shanahan kind of guys. He's more of the old-school style mixing in new-school tools on how to beat the opponent each and every week."

Stefanski has helped lead the Minnesota Vikings to the divisional round of the playoffs. Berry was one of the architects of the Eagles' NFC East-winning team.