The Cleveland Browns surprised everyone Tuesday, hiring baseball executive Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer. But if they had it their way, the surprise would have come last off-season.

According to ESPN's Tony Grossi, the Browns tried to hire current Blue Jays president and then-Cleveland Indians executive Mark Shapiro for a similar job in August.

These moves, along with the hiring of former lawyer and fervent analytics advisor Sashi Brown, suggest Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is willing to take a radical approach to turning around the team.