CLEVELAND, Ohio -- John Dorsey, who stormed into town in 2017 to ‘awaken the sleeping giant’ that is the Cleveland Browns, is out at the end of two full seasons as GM after refusing to take a giant reduction in his role from owner Jimmy Haslam, a source told cleveland.com.

Dorsey, who lost clout after his hire of Freddie Kitchens failed miserably, was asked to take a back seat to the new head of the football department, who will pair with the new head coach. Dorsey, who went 13-18-1 in his two full seasons as GM, would’ve been more of a talent evaluator, such as a Vice President of Player Personnel, a source said.

Browns Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, who commutes from his home in San Diego, will not take over as head of the football department, a league source said. Last year, Dorsey won the power struggle with DePodesta in the coaching search, choosing the inexperienced and raw Kitchens over Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who’s also a candidate this season.

The Browns weren’t up for another tug-of-war between the two men during their current coaching search, and Dorsey became the fifth head of football fired by the Haslams since they took over in 2012.

Kitchens was fired on Sunday night after going 6-10 and running a disorganized and undisciplined program. He lost four of his last five games, including the season finale to the 1-14 Bengals. As left guard Joel Bitonio pointed out, the Browns failed to show up for three "must-win'' games with playoff hopes on the line.

Freddie Kitchens fired as Browns coach

Dorsey’s signature draft pick was Baker Mayfield, selected No. 1 overall in 2018. But Mayfield tumbled to second-to-last in QB rating (78.8) under Kitchens, and the Browns must get him back on track in 2020. Mayfield paled in comparison this season to Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, who was picked No. 32 in 2018. An MVP candidate, Jackson threw 36 touchdowns against six interceptions, and finished sixth in the NFL in rushing.

Dorsey’s signature acquisition was the trade for receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who indicated late in the season he might not want to stay, but later changed his tune. Beckham, acquired in a trade with the Giants for a first-round pick, a third rounder and Jabrill Peppers, eclipsed 1,000 yards in the season finale, but had a subpar season for his talent.

Former Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry, currently Vice President of Football Operations for the Eagles, will receive a request from the Browns to interview for GM or whatever their head of football will be titled. Jimmy Haslam loves Berry and would love to bring him back into the fold.

The Browns will interview former Packers coach Mike McCarthy on Thursday, a league source said. McCarthy, who’s embraced analytics in his year out of football, could be a good fit with Berry and DePodesta, or current Browns assistant GM Eliot Wolf, if he stays.

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Also, as reported Sunday by cleveland.com, one of the Browns’ top coaching candidates, Josh McDaniels, would not have taken the job with Dorsey as general manager. McDaniels, who loved Mayfield coming out in 2018 according to a source, will want to bring his own personnel exec, either Patriots Director of Pro Personnel Dave Ziegler, Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio, or former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, a former Browns personnel exec.

Ziegler and Caserio both played football with McDaniels, a Canton, Ohio native, at Cleveland’s John Carroll University. The Browns could bring in some combination of the three aforementioned execs, depending on who the Patriots block the Browns from hiring. Or Pioli could become head of football operations and Ziegler or Caserio could be GM. Sources say McDaniels would lean towards Ziegler over Caserio.

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, said in a joint statement that they want flexibility to start fresh with a new coach and GM who will be closely aligned.

"We have a great appreciation for John and all he has done with the Cleveland Browns,'' the Haslams said. "He’s helped create a foundation that we need to continue to develop and build upon. While John helped greatly improve our team’s talent and we are excited about the core players on our roster, we fully recognized that our team did not meet its potential on or off the field and additional changes in leadership give us the best opportunity for success in the future.

"As the role of the general manager continues to evolve in this league we felt there were areas that needed to be reassessed. Over the last 48 hours, we’ve had discussion with John about his role but could not come to an agreement on a position that would enable him to remain with the organization.''

They stressed that the head coach-GM relationship is vital.

“As we conveyed on Sunday and our players reiterated yesterday, bringing in a strong leader with our head coach is our priority,'' the statement continued. "Our process to improve upon the leadership will allow the flexibility to ensure we create the best partnership between our future head coach and general manager. We know the road of our tenure as stewards of this franchise has been a test of patience as we all want the success that our fans so deserve and we are relentlessly committed to and working towards. We fully appreciate, understand and empathize with our fans as we work towards our ultimate goal of building a championship-level football team.”

Dorsey, who met with Haslam several times over the past two days, said in the statement provided by the team that he understands how critical the GM-coach relationship is.

“When I took this job, the history of this storied franchise and the passion of our fans was an integral part of my decision,'' he said. "It’s that same understanding and desire to see these fans enjoy the success they’re so deserving of that helped me conclude, along with Jimmy and Dee, that it was best to part ways as they embark on the search for a new head coach. I know how critical the relationship is between a general manager and head coach and I also know how critical it is that the Browns have a strong leader in their next coach. I have a great appreciation for the men and women I have worked with since being in Cleveland and my family has the same love and appreciation for this community and are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this journey.”

Dorsey was scheduled to have a press conference Tuesday, but it was postponed until Thursday, which sent up a red flag. Wolf and Vice President Alonzo Highsmith, both brought in by Dorsey, haven’t been let go yet, but their fates will be determined soon. Highsmith has a chance to take over football operations at his alma mater, the University of Miami.

If the Browns hire McCarthy, Wolf could survive because they have a history together in Green Bay. In that scenario, Wolf could possibly be promoted to GM.

DePodesta, whose contract is up after next season, contemplated leaving the organization because he wasn’t being heard, a source said, but Haslam wanted him to stay. The situation came to a head after Kitchens’ firing, and Dorsey was the odd man out.

Dorsey has two years left on his contract, meaning Haslam will be shelling out millions to Kitchens, most of his assistants -- who received three-year contracts from Dorsey -- and probably Highsmith and maybe Wolf.

Hired in December of 2017 to clean up the mess left behind by former head of football operations Sashi Brown, Dorsey vowed to find some “real football players.” He knew months before he took the job that he’d draft Mayfield No. 1 overall. It remains to be seen if Mayfield will prove to be the best in the class. Jackson and Buffalo’s Josh Allen, picked No. 7, both led their teams to the playoffs this season.

Dorsey also drafted Denzel Ward ahead of Broncos’ pass rusher Bradley Chubb at No. 4 in 2018, and the jury is out on who will have the better career. Ward made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but regressed on Kitchens’ watch in 2019. Dorsey’s second-round pick last season, Austin Corbett, flopped and was traded to the Rams, where he’s starting at left guard. His third-round pick, Chad Thomas, is a backup defensive end, and his fourth, Antonio Callaway, was released after being suspended 10 games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

This season, he made the blockbuster trade for Beckham, but OBJ didn’t mesh with Mayfield this season. Dorsey also traded starting right guard Kevin Zeitler to the Giants for defensive end Olivier Vernon, and that trade bombed when Vernon suffered a knee injury that cost him most of the second half of the season. His first draft pick, second-round corner Greedy Williams, had a marginal year and must improve his technique in 2020.

A man of second chances, Dorsey added a lot of character issues to the team, and the Browns were concerned with their locker room culture. It was a season of players committing penalties and losing their cool, including Myles Garrett clobbering Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph over the head with the QB’s helmet during a Browns victory Nov. 14.

It proved to be just one bizarre circumstance in the disappointing Season of Great Expectations.