For most of the offseason, the spotlight around the Cleveland Browns has been on the quarterback situation involving Deshaun Watson and rookie Shedeur Sanders. But this time, the Browns are reshaping the administrative side of the organization. While the franchise continues going through changes ahead of the new season, Cleveland has now made two big front office decisions that are drawing plenty of attention.

“The Browns have hired veteran NFL executive Ryan Grigson as senior football advisor and promoted Chris Cooper to senior vice president of football administration,” reported Adam Schefter on X.

The move involving Ryan Grigson had already surfaced last week. The former Indianapolis Colts general manager had been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2022. He spent his first three seasons as senior vice president of player personnel before stepping into the assistant GM role in 2025.

After leaving the Colts, Grigson stayed active in NFL front offices, taking up roles with the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and, later, the Minnesota Vikings. Since joining Minnesota in 2022, he quickly moved up the ranks and played a big role in key decisions, including free agency, draft planning, and building the team’s roster.

It’s his third stint with the Cleveland Browns. He previously worked with them as a senior personnel executive in 2017 and later returned as a senior football advisor from 2020 to 2021.

In fact, Browns’ GM Andrew Berry and Ryan Grigson go way back, having first worked together with the Indianapolis Colts. Berry served as the team’s pro scouting coordinator from 2012 to 2015, while Grigson was the general manager and played an important mentor role early in Berry’s career.

Because of that history, Rafael Zamorano believes Grigson’s return may not be a long-term move, suggesting he could simply be back to support Berry while he deals with personal matters.

While Ryan Grigson is a major addition to the Browns’ front office, he is not the only one making headlines as a front office member.

Chris Cooper gets promoted to the Cleveland Browns’ Senior Vice President of football administration.

The 2026 season will be Chris Cooper’s 13th season with the Cleveland Browns. Initially, the organization hired him in 2014 as director of football administration. After working there for half a decade, the organization changed his role to vice president of football administration. For the past seven years, he held that post before getting promoted to senior president of football administration.

Cooper is a close associate of Andrew Berry, the executive vice president of football operations and general manager of the Browns. His job demands that he work with the coaching and player personnel staffs, reaching and executing player contracts, managing the team’s salary cap, and overseeing areas related to the Browns’ relationship with the NFL and NFLPA.

He has been working hard throughout the offseason to build the roster. From negotiating contracts with players to meeting the representatives of the rookies, free agents, and players, his role includes a vast array of tasks. Now, in his new role, he will also oversee security and football information systems.

The Brooklyn Law School graduate first entered the NFL in 2008 as a law clerk for the Minnesota Vikings. Then he worked for the league’s management council in a variety of capacities from 2008 to 2014 at NFL headquarters in New York. Following that, he joined the Browns and has been with them to date. Now, it remains to be seen how the two changes in the Browns’ front office affect their upcoming season.