Cleveland Browns formally name Catherine Raîche, Glenn Cook assistant general managers

CLEVELAND — The Browns made a historic hire official Thursday by formally naming Catherine Raîche their new assistant general manager and vice president of football operations.

The announcement came after a source had told USA TODAY Sports' Jori Epstein last month Raîche would join the Browns for a high-ranking position in their front office.

The Browns also promoted Glenn Cook to assistant GM and VP of player personnel. Cook had held the VP of player personnel title with the organization since 2020.

Raîche spent the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Last year, the Eagles promoted her from a football operations/player personnel coordinator to VP of football operations, which had been the most senior-ranking team personnel position a woman has held in NFL history.

Browns GM Andrew Berry was the Eagles' VP of football operations for the Eagles in 2019, when he worked with Raîche in Philadelphia. Berry had pursued hiring Raîche in previous years, a source told Epstein.

Earlier this offseason, Raîche interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings for their GM job, which went to former Browns VP of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The departure of Adofo-Mensah from Cleveland paved the way for Raîche's new role with the Browns.

Only one woman has ever served as a GM in the NFL. In 1983, then-Eagles owner Leonard Toss promoted his daughter Susan Tose Spencer to GM, a job she held for three years.

Before Raîche entered the NFL, the Montreal native had been an assistant GM with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes (2017). She ascended the ranks after starting with the Alouettes as their coordinator of football administration (2015-17). She also worked as a director of football administration for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts (2018-19) and had a stint in the XFL (2019).

Glenn Cook interviewed for general manager jobs this offseason before promotion from Cleveland Browns

Earlier this offseason, Cook interviewed for the GM jobs of the Vikings and Chicago Bears, who hired Ryan Poles.

In March, Berry reflected on the Vikings hiring Adofo-Mensah and said he expects Cook to become a GM, too.

“Glenn is super well-rounded," Berry said at the time. "Pro, college [scouting] background. Does operations. Very bright. Outstanding people skills."

Cook and Berry have a long history together.

Cook has been with the Browns since 2016, when they hired him as the assistant director of scouting with Berry aboard as VP of player personnel. Cook arrived in Cleveland after a four-year tenure as a scout with the Green Bay Packers. He played linebacker at the University of Miami from 2004-08 and was a graduate assistant for the Hurricanes before landing his first NFL job with the Indianapolis Colts in 2011, when Berry served as a pro scout for Indy.

Cleveland Browns make many other hires, changes to football operations

Aside from Raîche, the Browns added six other people to their football operations staff and changed the roles of several more.

Here is a list of the new hires along with information provided by the Browns:

Hajriz Aliu — scouting assistant: Aliu joins the Browns from UCLA football, where he most recently served as a defensive assistant and contributed across the program's football operation in scouting- and performance-related roles. He holds a business administration degree with a concentration in finance from Pacific Lutheran University, where he served as the football team's captain in 2018. Born in Pristina, Kosovo, Aliu grew up in Santee, California.

Chris Buford — national scout: Buford joins the Browns after 10 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, the last three of which he was the Southwest area scout. A Baylor alum and defensive tackle, he appeared in 30 career games. He was also a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll list, earning a bachelor's degree in education and a master's in sports management.

Ryan Conway — scouting assistant: Conway worked externally for the Browns as a scouting research film analyst in the 2022 draft cycle. A 2021 graduate of the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in economics, he worked for Virginia football as a video manager and scouting assistant during his undergraduate years. He has also worked as an offensive analyst for Pitt football and as a aata analyst for Bates White Economic Consulting.

Shawn Heinlen — Southwest area scout: Heinlen joins the Browns with 22 years of NFL scouting experience, the last four with the Philadelphia Eagles as their Southwest area scout. He is a Florida native and graduate of the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's in sports administration.

Catherine Raîche — assistant GM and VP of football operations: Raîche joins the Browns from the Philadelphia Eagles, where she oversaw all areas of football ops and player personnel, including pro and college scouting, contract management, player/staff development and football research. With the Browns, she will help manage the day-to-day operations of the team and contribute to all strategic roster decisions across the player personnel and football ops verticals. Before her start in the NFL, she practiced law in Quebec, where she is originally from. In 2015, she switched her focus to sports, working with the Montreal Alouettes as an intern. By 2017, she was promoted to assistant GM, becoming the first and only female assistant GM in the CFL at the time. She spent time with the Toronto Argonauts in 2018 before taking a job at the front office of the XFL in 2019.

Jimmy Raye — senior executive adviser to the GM: Raye's NFL career started in 1991 when he signed as a free agent wide receiver to the Los Angeles Rams. After his playing career, he served as the offensive quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1995 before spending much of his career with the San Diego Chargers as a scout (1996-1999), director of college scouting (2000-2007) and director of player personnel (2008-2012). He was hired in 2013 as the VP of football operations with the Colts and the assistant GM of the Houston Texans in 2017.

Cyrus Wolford — scouting assistant: Jones is a 2022 graduate from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in sport and recreation management. In his time at Temple, Cyrus worked in recruiting, scouting and equipment. He most recently worked with Penn football as a player personnel intern.

Here is a list of the promotions and role changes, plus information provided by the Browns:

Adam Al-Khayyal — director pro scouting: Al-Khayyal is entering his eighth season with the Browns after beginning as an intern in player personnel and football administration in 2015. He most recently completed his second season as assistant director of pro personnel. He will continue to manage day-to-day pro scouting initiatives and roster transactions and contribute to college scouting and strategic roster decisions. A native of Atlanta, he graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in economics and played wide receiver for the Tigers.

Zach Ayers — national scout: Ayers enters his eighth season in the NFL and with the Browns. After six years of being the west coast area scout, he'll transition into a primary cross checker in the west region of the country. Ayers is an Oregon native and graduate of Western Oregon University with a bachelor's in interdisciplinary studies.

Glenn Cook — assistant GM and VP of player personnel: Cook enters his seventh year with the organization and adds assistant GM duties in addition to his role of leading the day-to-day operations of the personnel group. He has been a key part of the senior executive group and will play an expanded role in helping manage the operational functions of the team.

Josh Cox — west coast area scout: Cox enters his seventh season with the Browns and in the NFL. After covering the midlands for two years, he will transition into the west coast area scout role and be responsible for all draft-eligible prospects in the area. He began his NFL career with the Browns in 2015 as a film analyst and returned to the club after one year as an area scout for the Senior Bowl in 2019. Cox is a California native and University of Alabama graduate who has a degree in exercise science.

Sam DeLuca — assistant director pro scouting: DeLuca is entering his 10th season with the Browns after joining the organization in 2013. His role will evolve within pro scouting, where he'll continue to assist with the advance scouting of opponents, free agency evaluation and overall day-to-day operations of the department. DeLuca, a Philadelphia native, graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in business management and legal studies before joining the Browns in 2013.

Matt Donahoe — Southeast area scout: Donahoe is entering his 10th season in the NFL and fifth with the Browns after joining the organization in 2018. Matt is transitioning into the Southeast region, where he'll continue to serve as the primary scout for all draft-eligible players in his area. He is a Pittsburgh native who completed his economics degree at Allegheny College, lettered all four years and was a two-time Academic All-American golf team member.

Joe Dever — Mid-Atlantic area scout: Dever transitions into the area scout role after completing his second season as a scouting assistant for the Browns. In his new role, he will serve as the primary scout for all draft-eligible players in his region. He originally joined the organization as a scouting intern in 2019 after two years as a graduate assistant football coach at John Carroll University. A Cleveland native and St. Edward High School grad, he earned a masters of business administration from JCU and his bachelor’s from Mercyhurst University, where he was a two-time All-Conference linebacker and team captain.

Tyler Hamblin — director of football operations: Hamblin is entering his sixth season with the Browns after beginning as scouting assistant in player personnel in 2017. He most recently completed his second season as a football operations coordinator. In his new role, he will manage day-to-day football ops initiatives and work closely with high performance, equipment, player engagement, video and football information systems groups. He will continue to contribute to scouting, football research and strategic roster decisions. Hamblin, a native of Syracuse, New York, graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor of arts (sociology) and played tight end for the Crimson.

Callum Mahoney — salary cap and contract analyst: After initially joining the Browns in the fall of 2019 as an intern, Mahoney has proved to be a valuable resource on the contract management team. His work, in conjunction with football information systems, has streamlined and enhanced systems for logging and analyzing league-wide contract data.  In his new role, he will continue to focus on salary cap and player contract issues and trends as well as provide support in player contract negotiations and long-term salary cap planning. Prior to his arrival in Cleveland, Callum had studied at McGill University, where he graduated with a degree in biology.

Shane Normandeau — football operations coordinator: Normandeau is entering his third season with the Browns after joining in 2020 as a scouting assistant. In his new role, he will continue to support the player personnel department both with pro and college scouting assignments and will also add game management to his weekly duties. In addition, he will assist the football operations department in various capacities. A Colby College graduate, he also served as an offensive assistant for his alma mater.

Max Paulus — director college scouting: Paulus enters his 10th season in the NFL and with the Browns. He will lead the college department's day-to-day operations, contribute to all strategic decisions regarding draft-eligible prospects and participate in pro scouting initiatives. His previous responsibility was as an area scout for six years in the Mid-Atlantic. Max, a native of Massillon, is a graduate of Denison, where he started at quarterback for three years and served as team captain before joining the Browns.

Bob Quinn — senior personnel/coaching executive: Quinn has been hired into a role that will service both the coaching and personnel staff after serving as a senior consultant last season. Before his time in Cleveland, Quinn was the GM of the Detroit Lions after serving in a variety of capacities for the New England Patriots from 2000-2015.

Joy Tapajcik — player personnel and football operations process manager: Tapajcik is entering her second season with the organization. She has quickly been making an impact across the football side of the organization and is taking on an enhanced and well-earned set of responsibilities reflecting that impact. She contributes in all areas of scouting, oversees the day-to-day initiatives of the logistics and grounds groups and spearheads several initiatives spanning both personnel and football ops, including areas of development, people operations and process improvement. Tapajcik joined the Browns last year after distinguished service in the Navy, including many years in Naval Intelligence and with the U.S. Naval Academy’s football program.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns name Catherine Raîche, Glenn Cook assistant GMs