Former GM Wolf rips Browns' reliance on analytics: 'That's what got 'em 1-31'

Hall of Fame general manager Ron Wolf doesn't believe the Cleveland Browns are close to rebounding from a postseason-less decade.

After the Browns mutually parted ways with his son, assistant general manager Eliot Wolf, on Wednesday, Ron Wolf told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Cleveland and other teams that embrace analytics are "out of control."

"When something goes wrong, who takes responsibility?" the elder Wolf said. "Their answer: 'Well, that's what the data told us.' What a crock. That's what got 'em 1-31."

Cleveland on Monday hired Andrew Berry as its new general manager and executive vice president of football operations. Berry, a Harvard graduate, is believed to fit the franchise's vision of an analytics-driven model for team-building.

The Browns also dismissed vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith on Wednesday due to an apparent clash with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta over the use of analytics.

"I wanted to go in a different direction because my philosophy on football is different from theirs,'' Highsmith said, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot.

Ron Wolf won three Super Bowls during his front-office career: one as general manager of the Green Bay Packers and two with the Los Angeles Raiders as a scout.