Paul DePodesta has returned to baseball after a decade in the NFL, joining the Colorado Rockies as president of baseball operations with a clear mandate: transform one of the sport's most persistent losing franchises into a contender at 5,280 feet above sea level.

The former Oakland Athletics analytics pioneer, immortalized in Michael Lewis' "Moneyball," left the Cleveland Browns in November to tackle what he calls "one of the more interesting challenges" in professional sports. Colorado has lost 100 or more games in three straight seasons.

"We need to embrace this," DePodesta said of playing at altitude. "This is who we are."

His approach centers on reframing Coors Field from liability to weapon. New pitching coach Alon Leichman, who called pitches from the dugout in Miami last season, leads a four-person pitching staff built around aggressive, fearless coaching.

"There's two types of pitching coaches I have been around," Leichman said. "The ones that want this job, and the ones that think this is a suicide."

Colorado's rotation posted a 6.65 ERA last season, which was the highest for any starting staff since ERA became an official statistic in 1913. DePodesta has responded by expanding the analytics department, adding pitching lab technology and signing free agents Jose Quintana, Michael Lorenzen and Tomoyuki Sugano.

Offensively, DePodesta is prioritizing contact, elite outfield defense and aggressive baserunning over power, given Coors Field's vast dimensions. Additions Jake McCarthy, Willi Castro and Edouard Julien reflect that philosophy.

"In the standard-outcome numbers, our offense needs to be elite," DePodesta said. "And I think we were 30th last year. That can't happen."

DePodesta, 53, acknowledged building a winner in Denver will require patience.

"I'm a sucker for a challenge," he said.