The Browns yesterday hired Eliot Wolf as the team's Assistant GM despite the fact that Wolf had an interview "lined up with the Raiders" today, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. Wolf would have interviewed for a "high-level position" under Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, but he opted to join the Browns after he was "passed over" for the Packers GM job on Monday. It is a "good sign" for the direction of the Browns' front office, and GM John Dorsey's close working relationship with Wolf and Wolf's father, Ron, "probably also helped." Dorsey "has also hired" former Packers Senior Personnel Exec Alonzo Highsmith as VP/Player Personnel. He is "now surrounded by scouts he feels comfortable with, and two of the most-highly regarded personnel men in the business." Although the Browns' personnel department is "getting crowded," VP/Player Personnel Andrew Berry and Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta are "expected to remain in their current roles" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/11). In Cleveland, Dan Labbe notes there is a "chance" that Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam has "finally gotten at least part of the equation right in making the Browns into a winner." Fans should "feel good about where the front office stands today" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/11).
MOVING ON, GETTING OVER: In Milwaukee, Tom Silverstein notes new Packers GM Brian Gutekunst "wanted Wolf to stay on in a leadership role." However, sources said that Wolf "felt it was best for him to move on after being passed over" for the team's opening at GM (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/11). Ron Wolf, a former Packers GM, "wasn't happy" when the Packers "passed on his son," Eliot, for the team's GM job on Monday. However, the script "flipped" yesterday when he was hired by the Browns. " Ron Wolf: "I was disappointed for him that he didn't get it. I'll leave it at that" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/11).
