Making the right personnel decisions is paramount for every NFL team. The Cleveland Browns are on a constant search for the best roster to pull out of a two-year funk where the team won a total of eight games. To that end, the Browns recently hired Trent Baalke as a consultant, according to CBS Sports’ national NFL and college football senior reporter Matt Zenitz.
“The #Browns have added longtime NFL executive Trent Baalke in a consultant-like capacity, a source tells @CBSSports,” wrote Zenitz. “Was most recently general manager of the #Jaguars from 2021-24. Was also a GM with the #49ers from 2011-16.”
The #Browns have added longtime NFL executive Trent Baalke in a consultant-like capacity, a source tells @CBSSports.
Was most recently general manager of the #Jaguars from 2021-24. Was also a GM with the #49ers from 2011-16. pic.twitter.com/z2oNCShrcA
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) May 2, 2026
Baalke began his football career as an outside linebacker at Bemidji State University in Minnesota from 1982 through 1985. During his time with the Beavers, Baalke was voted All-Conference and All-Midwest Region. Four years after graduating, he started a career in athletics by working as a grad assistant at North Dakota State in 1989. Baalke then worked as the defensive line and strength and conditioning coach at South Dakota State from 1990 through 1995.
Following two years as a high school athletic director in Fargo, North Dakota, Baalke made a jump to the NFL in 1998 as a scout for the New York Jets. In 2001, he went to work for the Washington Redskins as a national scout before becoming the franchise’s college scouting coordinator in 2004. Baalke left the Nation’s Capitol in 2005 to work as a scout for the San Francisco 49ers.
In 17 years with the Niners, Baalke went from scout to Director of Player Personnel to general manager. As GM, he worked with then-head coach Jim Harbaugh as San Francisco reached two NFC Championship games and made an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, a loss against John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens.
When the Niners went 2-14 in 2016, Baalke was fired and went to work as a football operations consultant with the NFL for three years. In 2020, he was hired by Jacksonville and went from Director of Player Personnel to interim GM to GM by the end of the 2024 season. Under his leadership, the Jags made the playoffs once, reaching the divisional round in 2022 before losing to Kansas City.
In his current role with Cleveland, Baalke will work with general manager Andrew Berry while the Browns try to turn their fortunes around with more questions than answers at quarterback and with a new head coach in Todd Monken.
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