Terry Collins, Paul DePodesta

New York Mets VP of Player Development Paul DePodesta, right, talks with Mets manager Terry Collins in the dugout before a 2011 game. DePodesta has been hired by the Cleveland Browns, according to reports.

(AP)

BEREA, Ohio - The Browns are going all Moneyball on us. On Tuesday, they hired analytics guru Paul DePodesta away from the Mets and named him Chief Strategy Officer, owner Jimmy Haslam announced.

Jonah Hill's character Peter Brand in "Moneyball," the baseball analytics movie, was based on DePodesta.

It's DePodesta's first job in football, but not in Cleveland. A former wide receiver and baseball player at Harvard, he began his MLB career as an intern in player development in 1996 for the Indians before becoming the Major League Advance Scout for the 1997-1998 seasons and later the Special Assistant to the GM.

"We are fortunate to bring in Paul, an extremely talented, highly respected sports executive who will add a critical dimension to our front office," Haslam said in a release. "His approach and ambition to find the best pathways for organizational success transcend one specific sport and his experience as a high-level sports executive make him a terrific addition to the Cleveland Browns.

"While we are excited about what Paul will provide our organization, we remain fully focused on the critical task of identifying the right head coach and a top talent evaluator who will provide the football expertise needed to be successful."

DePodesta's hiring comes two days after Haslam fired coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer and put Sashi Brown in charge of the football side and 53-man roster, keeping him as an Executive Vice President, but of Football Operations instead of General Counsel.

DePodesta will report to Haslam, as will Brown, team president Alec Scheiner and the new head coach. The new GM, to be hired after the coach, will report to Brown.

He will also join the head coach search committee of Haslam, his wife and co-owner Dee Haslam, Brown and Jed Hughes. Curiously, Scheiner is not part of the search team, which doesn't seem to bode well for him.

"Paul has invaluable experience in management and leadership with a number of highly successful sports teams," said Brown, a Harvard Law School grad. "His ability to create better processes and systems throughout organizations, his use of data as a tool to produce better outcomes, and his relentless focus on looking for innovative ways to create more success will be a strong asset as we look to be as comprehensive as possible in our decision making.

"Additionally, Paul will help members of our player development, high performance and analytics departments maximize their efforts. There are many areas that we have not fully capitalized on that will enhance the growth and performance of our players over time."

DePodesta acknowledged that although he's spent his entire career in baseball, the call of the gridiron was strong.

"Cleveland and football have always held a special place in my heart," said DePodesta. "It was 20 years ago this month, after pursuing my first love of football and looking at every possible job in the NFL, that I got the biggest break I could imagine - a job offer from the American League Champion Cleveland Indians. As excited as I was then, I'm even more excited now to return to Cleveland and to try to help the Browns.''

When Haslam fired Farmer and Pettine, he harped on collaboration as the new order of the day. The new head coach and GM will have to embrace analystics for the business model to work.

Former Browns CEO Joe Banner, now an ESPN analyst, applauded the club embracing analytics on SportsCenter, but predicted doom if they hire the wrong coach. He stressed that the role of a coach is much larger in football than in baseball or basketball, where analytics is widely used, and that the traditional coaches the Browns are interviewing might not work in this plan -- where Brown and the analytics team will have final say over the roster.

This week, they're set to interview Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, former Bills coach Doug Marrone, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

"If they hire one of those guys, I think we'll have conflict in a relatively short period of time,'' he said.

He noted that former Browns coach Rob Chudzinski hated the fact that he traded Trent Richardson to the Colts -- for a No. 1 overall pick -- in 2013 -- and said there would've been a revolt had he accepted an offer for Josh Gordon (which was a second-round pick).

But the Browns are all in on analytics, and as Billy Beane said in "Moneyball" - ''adapt or die.''

"My focus is to bring whatever experience and perspective I can to collaborate with the team, with the intent of helping us make more informed and successful decisions,'' said DePodesta. "Admittedly, there will be an awful lot for me to learn, but I want nothing more than to help bring consistent, championship-caliber football back to Cleveland and Browns fans and I look forward to starting right away."

After leaving the Indians in 1998, he served as an Assistant General Manager, General Manager, Executive Vice President, and Vice President of Scouting and Player Development for the Oakland A's, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and New York Mets. At every stop, DePodesta's teams won division titles, culminating in a trip to the World Series this past October with the Mets. The Mets' NL East title in 2015 made him the only executive in MLB to win division titles with five different organizations.

He's also been recognized by Fortune, who ranked him a Top 10 innovator under 40. A native of Alexandria, Va., DePodesta graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1995 and was a varsity football letterwinner in 1994.