BEREA, Ohio – The Cleveland Browns have made six additions to their player personnel staff, and promoted three individuals from within. General Manager Ray Farmer made the announcement Monday.
In addition to executive chief of staff Bill Kuharich and vice president of player personnel Morocco Brown, added earlier this month, the team on Monday named Charles Bailey, Bobby DePaul, Mike Hagen, Ron Hill and James Kirkland senior personnel associates, and Scott Aligo player personnel associate. The Browns also promoted Sam DeLuca and Harrison Ritcher to player personnel associate, and promoted Colton Chapple to BLESTO scout.
"Assembling this group is an important step for our team," Farmer said. "These individuals operate out of the spotlight, but their work is critical to our success. And contrary to what some may think, scouts work 12 months out of the year. Their families sacrifice a lot, and I appreciate all the days scouts spend away from home. Our simple philosophy is to identify and acquire players who can return winning football to our loyal fans. We're committed to building our roster through the draft, developing that talent once it's here, and retaining it. Each of these people is central in that process."
Brian Decker, Brendan Donovan, Frank Edgerly, Ken Kovash, Deb Kruszynski, Jon Sandusky and Dan Saganey join college area scouts Zac Bocian, Patrick Moore, Chisom Opara and Bobby Vega, to complete the team's 2014 player personnel staff.
Charles Bailey, senior player personnel associate – Bailey served as the pro personnel director for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003-08. Before working with the Jaguars, Bailey spent 10 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a scout and pro personnel coordinator until 1999. After Pittsburgh, he worked as the vice president of football operations and assistant general manager of the New Orleans Saints.
Bobby DePaul, senior player personnel associate – DePaul played linebacker at Maryland before coaching three years at Catholic University. He then served as an assistant coach with the Washington Redskins (1989-93) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1994-96). DePaul then transitioned to personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1997-2000. After serving as the pro personnel director for the Chicago Bears from 2001-09, DePaul returned to the Eagles working as a pro advance scout. In 22 years in the NFL, DePaul has helped his teams earn four Coach of the Year awards, five division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl victory.
Ron Hill, senior player personnel associate – Hill comes to the Browns with 34 years of experience as an NFL scout and player personnel executive, most recently serving as the NFL's vice president of football operations. Hill began his career as a college scout for the Dallas Cowboys, and then worked his way up to regional scout and assistant director of player personnel with the Denver Broncos. He then worked as the Jacksonville Jaguars' director of pro personnel before serving as the Atlanta Falcons' vice president of football operations and vice president of player personnel for seven years. Over the course of his time on NFL personnel staffs, Hill has been a part of 10 conference championship berths and four Super Bowls.
Mike Hagen, senior player personnel associate – Hagen was most recently working as a scouting consultant with the NFL football operations department. Over the course of Hagen's 27 years in the league, he has worked with four Super Bowl teams in both executive and player personnel positions. Hagen was on staff for Super Bowls with the Falcons (XXXIII) and the Redskins (XXVI), and made multiple Super Bowl trips with the Broncos (XXII, XXIV) and Cowboys (XXVII, XXVIII). From 2010-12, Hagen worked as the assistant general manager/pro personnel director of the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League. His brother, Steve, is a former Browns assistant coach.
James Kirkland, senior player personnel associate – Kirkland most recently worked as a pro scout for the Tennessee Titans in 2013. He got his NFL start as a volunteer scouting intern with the Falcons. Kirkland was hired by the Browns in 2004 as an area scout. He was later promoted to assistant director of pro personnel in 2007. After three seasons in that role, Kirkland worked with the Chicago Bears from 2010-12 as a pro scouting assistant, a pro scout and an area scout.
Scott Aligo, player personnel associate – Aligo was most recently the defensive ends coach for the University of Northern Colorado football team. Aligo also spent time as an assistant at Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Washburn. Prior to coaching, he served as a player personnel assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2005-09.
Colton Chapple, BLESTO – Chapple began working as a scout on the Browns player personnel staff in 2013 after graduating from Harvard. Chapple played quarterback for four years at Harvard, throwing for 2,567 yards and 24 TDs as a senior in 2012.
Sam DeLuca, player personnel associate – DeLuca graduated from Arizona State in May 2013 and worked as a pro personnel intern with the Philadelphia Eagles in the summers of 2011 and 2012. Before interning in the personnel department, he worked as an equipment assistant for the Eagles from 2006-10.
Harrison Ritcher, player personnel associate – Ritcher played fullback at North Carolina State from 2006-09. After graduation, Ritcher served as a recruiting intern at Florida State in 2010. He then began working in the Browns personnel department as a scouting intern during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
