Browns Interviewed Assistant Vikings GM George Paton on Saturday

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cleveland Browns met with the elusive George Paton to interview him for the general manager job with the Cleveland Browns. Paton, currently the assistant general manager to Rick Spielman with the Minnesota Vikings, has reportedly been unsure if he'd be willing to even meet with the Browns, preferring to stay with the Vikings. He's been staunch in his desire to stay with the Vikings, turning down interviews in the past, but this would be a job with Kevin Stefanski, someone he knows from their shared time in Minnesota.

The #Browns and #Vikings executive George Paton met on Saturday for an interview, source said. His relationship with Kevin Stefanski is just one reason he’s a strong candidate. https://t.co/EFk5GrpiZP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2020

The comfort level with Stefanski might have Paton shoot to the top of the list for candidates for the job, assuming he is willing to leave the Vikings. He's only the third candidate they've interviewed for the position with the other two being Andrew Berry, the Vice President of Football Operations with the Philadelphia Eagles and Monti Ossenfort, the scouting director for the New England Patriots.

Paul DePodesta, the team's Chief Strategy Officer, and ownership have a bias toward Berry, as the they know him from his time with the Browns while Stefanski is probably favoring Paton. Both DePodesta and Stefanski are on the hiring committee along with ownership, so it will be interesting to see if it comes down to those two and if it's a unanimous decision or if it's split.

DePodesta has said the Browns aren't planning on interviewing as many candidates for the general manger job as they did for the head coaching job, so while the team gave itself two weeks, unless they plan to speak to anyone else, they may come to a decision sooner than later.