Analytics are becoming more important in sports, with organizations having one numbers guru and even entire departments dedicated to pinpointing statistics that can give them an edge.
That being said, there are still those coaches and front-office officials who put more precedence on instincts and flat-out common sense than data-driven analytics.
A new ESPN the Magazine feature story seems to point to the Cleveland Browns being in that exact situation ... only more compounded.
The struggling NFL franchise has a new chief strategy officer in Paul DePodesta, who doesn't count any previous football experience. A Harvard grad in economics, DePodesta is the New York Mets' former vice president of player development and amateur scouting. How he wants to use analytics is why ESPN the Magazine is declaring him the "most intriguing NFL prospect of the last decade."
According to the publication's April 25 NFL Draft issue, DePodesta is aiming for Browns decisions to be backed by 60 percent data and 40 percent scouting, a ratio that is nearly the opposite of the league's teams' usual 70 percent scouting and 30 percent data-driven clip.
That doesn't seem to bode well for new Browns head coach Hue Jackson, whom a former NFL exec described as "a very bad fit" for the strategy DePodesta is looking to take. That same exec also said that Jackson's coaching staff won't be part of the analytics department's decision-making process, even in the upcoming NFL Draft from April 28 through 30.
Can you say fireworks?
"It's not just Hue Jackson," the former executive told ESPN the Magazine. "When data overrides gut, the majority of his coaching staff will all be there screaming, 'What the f--- are these computer guys doing? They don't understand football, they don't understand the locker room. They're killing us.'"
When speaking with the Godfather of Sabermetrics and senior adviser to the Boston Red Sox Bill James last summer, he told us that there are still teams that aren't up to par when it comes to analytics. However, that's within Major League Baseball; not the NFL.
"Certainly there are some, yes, that emphasize that type of analysis much more than others. But even those that are most behind the curve still embrace a lot of things that are produced by sabermetrics, without realizing where they come from," James told us at the time.
Let's see how this Browns situation pans out during the draft and definitely during the 2016 NFL season.
