Cleveland Browns, Assistant GM Eliot Wolf Agree To Part Ways

The Cleveland Browns continue to shake up their front office.

The team and assistant general manager Eliot Wolf agreed Wednesday to mutually part ways, an unnamed source told NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero.

It appeared earlier Wednesday that Wolf might retain his job, according to ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen.

Browns’ new front office personnel apparently tried to convince Wolf to stay, Mortensen tweeted.

The #Browns and assistant GM Eliot Wolf have agreed to mutually part ways, source said. Respected executive should be a hot commodity for other teams.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 29, 2020

Update II: Assistant GM Eliot Wolf is parting ways with the @Browns despite efforts today by new regime to persuade him to stay, per league sources.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 29, 2020

The Browns also decided Wednesday to mutually part ways with vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith and college scouting director Steve Malin.

Wolf, Highsmith and Malin’s departures come two days after the Browns announced they would hire Andrew Berry as their next general manager.

Berry, 32, is the youngest general manager in the NFL.

Former Browns general manager John Dorsey hired Wolf, Highsmith and Malin in 2018.

The Browns fired Dorsey at the end of December.

Wolf, 37, could be a welcome addition to another NFL team’s front office given his success in a variety of different roles with the Green Bay Packers from 2004-2017.

It includes the Packers’ victory in Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wolf interviewed for the Packers general manager job in 2018, but the team instead picked Brian Gutekunst for the position.

Wolf’s father, Ron Wolf, was the general manager of the Packers from 1991-2000.

The elder Wolf  — who is now retired — called the Browns front office and others that embrace an analytics-driven model “out of control,” according to Mortensen.

“When something goes wrong who takes responsilbity?” Ron Wolf told Mortensen. “Their answer: ‘Well, that’s what the data told us.’ What a crock. That’s what got ’em 1-31.”

Hall of Fame GM Ron Wolf said the @Browns and others who embrace an analytics-driven model are "out of control."
Wolf: "When something goes wrong, who takes responsibility?
"Their answer: `Well, that's what the data told us.' What a crock. That's what got 'em 1-31."

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 29, 2020

We’ll see where Dorsey, Highsmith, Malin and the younger Wolf end up.

Dorsey, Highsmith and Wolf worked together in Green Bay.

Highsmith, 54, served as the team’s senior personnel executive from 2012-2017.

Before that, Highsmith was a fullback for the Houston Oilers (1987-1989), Dallas Cowboys (1990-1991) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1991-1992).

Dorsey, 59, played for the Packers from 1984-1989, worked as a team scout from 1991-1996, served as the director of college scouting from 1997-1998 and again from 2000-2011 before serving as the Packers director of football operations in 2012.

Dorsey also worked as the Kansas City Chiefs general manager (2013-2016) and as the Seahawks director of player personnel (1999).

Malin previously worked in the scouting departments for the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.