In a move that reads like the final act of a Hollywood script, Paul DePodesta is stepping away from the turf of the Cleveland Browns and heading to the batter’s box with the Colorado Rockies. After nearly a decade as the Browns’ chief strategy officer, DePodesta is reportedly set to return to Major League Baseball as the Rockies’ new head of baseball operations. 

His departure from Cleveland marks the end of an era defined by analytics-driven decision-making in a league often skeptical of metrics. While with the Browns he played a behind-the-scenes role—shaping vision, processes and data systems rather than directly picking players.  Now, the Rockies are giving him the reins to overhaul a franchise that has limped through multiple 100-loss seasons and rarely sniffed postseason glory.  

What makes this shift so compelling is its coming full-circle nature: DePodesta built his early reputation in baseball—most notably as part of the “Moneyball” era with the Oakland Athletics—before migrating to football.  Now he returns to the fold with an opportunity to reshape the Rockies from the ground up. The task ahead is daunting: build talent, transform culture, and finally turn the tide on a franchise long mired in rebuilding mode. If his track record means anything, we could be witnessing the next chapter of analytical baseball thinking take root at Coors Field.