The Cleveland Browns Would be Smart to Hire Eric Schaffer!

Eric Schaffer and the Washington Redskins are mutually parting ways. The timing a bit unexpected but the writing has been on the wall.

Hey Cleveland Browns! Hello Haslam's Incorporated. Here's your chance to do a really smart thing that will help your franchise, if you want it! 

Instead of hiring unprepared head coaches to deal with odorously strong personalities like Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. or instead of trying to take away the general manager's power to turn the reigns over to a guy who was in a baseball front office a few years ago -- here's your chance to restore Cleveland Browns football to what it once used to be. 

Do yourself a favor: Hire Eric Schaffer. 

It's very simple. He's a free agent, now that he's mutually parted ways with the Redskins. 

“I want to thank Eric Schaffer for his work and contributions over the past 17 years. He was dedicated to the team and the organization and we wish him all the best,” said Washington Redskins Owner Dan Snyder via a statement. 

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dan Snyder for bringing me into the NFL and allowing me to be a Washington Redskin for the past 17 seasons.  It was a privilege serving this historic franchise as both Senior  Vice President of Football Operations and General Counsel and a blessing to have worked with so many incredible people,” said Schaffer also via statement. 

Schaffer knows how to deal with a strong minded and involved owners like Jimmy & Dee Haslam along with an organization that doesn't exactly run smoothly. 

I'm also trying to be nice here. You need a President of Football Operations. You don't have one. I know you have have Paul DePodesta as your Chief Strategy Officer, who was with the New York Mets a few years ago. 

I know you have David Jenkins as your Executive Vice President and COO. I'm sure they are wonderfully smart and brilliant. 

You don't have Eric Schaffer. You don't have a Cleveland native in your front office that knows football, contracts, agents, the collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap like Schaffer does. 

Be smart and hire one of, if not the smartest guys in the National Football League. Just do it quick. League sources told Redskins Maven/SI.com that Schaffer is already scheduled to interview with an unidentified organization on Friday. It could be the Browns. It might be someone else. 

Teams have been poking around for a few years. From what I heard, the NFL league office was interested as well. 

Do yourself a good thing. Did I mention he's a Cleveland native and a member of the Ohio bar association. 

He just completed his 18th season with the Redskins which is like 180 years in "Redskins years" as us former employees used to call it. 

Make no mistake - he's got a lot to give. 

He's worked his butt off to learn the scouting side of the industry and would make a wonderful pairing with a good young evaluator of talent like Eliot Wolf or someone of that ilk. 

Don't think much about it. Just do it and thank me later. 

Trust me, you won't find a finer man on the free agent market to add to your organization and help the Browns win. 

Chris Russell is the Publisher of Maven & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.