Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has put together a great front office staff since he joined the team in 2020. As such, Berry and his staff helped curate a Browns team locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs still with a week left in the regular season.
Draft picks, free agent signings and trades aren’t unilateral decisions by Berry, either. It takes a group of decision-makers to pull off transactions that help the team.
But with all that success comes the pull of other job offers. General manager is the highest front office position in football, and it would behoove potential candidates from not seeking such roles.
Two high-ranking front office executives on the Browns could be top choices during this offseason hiring cycle: assistant general managers Glenn Cook and Catherine Raiche. Both were named among on a future GM watchlist by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer this week.
A year ago, both Cook and Raiche participated in the NFL’s front office and GM accelerator program to help them understand the nuances of other aspects of running a team. And now, they helped build one of the best teams in the NFL.
Cook has interviewed for GM jobs in the past two offseasons already: First with the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears after the 2021 season, then with the Tennessee Titans after the 2022 season. Cook is also the team’s vice president of player personnel.
Raiche is one of the highest-ranking female front office executives in the NFL after she spent time with the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before joining Howie Roseman’s staff with Philadelphia Eagles. She is now the team’s vice president of football operations.
Right now, there are only two open GM jobs in the NFL: the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders. But more are sure to follow as the final week of the 2023 regular season approaches.
Though neither Cook nor Raiche are shoo-ins to leave, being named to the list indicates there is enough interest in the NFL for them to be considered candidates for the next hiring cycle.
