In what was a surprise football operations move, the Cleveland Browns hired former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson as Senior Personnel Executive on Wednesday.

Grigson brings almost 20 years of experience to the Browns front office but does come with some baggage from his time in Indianapolis where he was relieved as general manager in January.

He failed to build a team around the franchise quarterback Andrew Luck but helped the Colts make three playoff appearances in five seasons. In 2013, he shipped a first round pick to Cleveland for running back Trent Richardson which was a disaster.

He also had two failed first round picks in Bjorn Werner (2013) and Phillip Dorsett (2015). Now he did find some players like T.Y. Hilton, Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener who have been complementary receivers in the NFL.

However, the offensive line was one of the worst in football and caused a significant shoulder injury to Luck. The defense was also one of the worst in football and failed trades and free agent signings didn’t help Grigson’s case.

It’s unknown what Grigson’s role will be in the front office but he does bring a lot of experience as well as a relationship with Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry, whom spent four seasons with Grigson in Indianapolis. 

He spent five years with the St. Louis Rams as an area and national scout.

In 2004, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a Western Regional scout. Promoted to Director of College Scouting in 2006 which was his role for four seasons when he got promoted to Director of Player Personnel. He spent two seasons in that role until he was hired by Indianapolis.

Former Colts punter Pat McAfee had an interesting tweet reacting to the move.

I wouldn’t call it a bad move by the Browns because Grigson won’t be making the final decision like he did in Indianapolis. I think it’s a great move to add another football guy with experience in scouting and personnel, a move many in the media have pined for this kind of move all offseason. 

However with it being Grigson, the media will make this out to be a terrible hire and a bigger story than it should be because of his time in Indianapolis instead of his lengthy career as a football executive/scout.