Cleveland Browns: Where Ray Farmer Went Wrong

By Peter Smith | Dec 29, 2015

Cleveland Browns GM Ray Farmer could be on the way out, and it’s because he didn’t act on his own judgment.

Imagine putting in the amount of work required to become a general manager in the NFL. The amount of travel, being away from home for most of the year, having countless opinions ignored or dismissed for years all for a shot to be the man to make the call. Finally, that shot arrives and after a year of scouting players, grinding on tape, putting a plan in place and doing everything to get ready for draft day and then… let someone else make the pick. In a nutshell, this is what happened with Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer.

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With speculation coming out of any number of sources that Farmer is going to be the fall guy for the Cleveland Browns, understanding where Farmer went wrong is important. In an industry where people are hired to get fired and generally only get one shot, Farmer drafted scared and did not do it his way; something he will likely regret for the rest of his life.

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Farmer picked Justin Gilbert and he picked Johnny Manziel, but he did it because Mike Pettine wanted Gilbert and Jimmy Haslam wanted Manziel. He didn’t make the picks that Farmer wanted to make.

Farmer was so sold on Gilbert that he never actually met him before picking him. The Browns did not attend Manziel’s Pro Day. These are debacles in hindsight, but it also suggests that Farmer had no intention of picking either one of them and had his own plan and simply did not trust himself enough to execute it.

Consider the fact that while Farmer never met Gilbert, he spent 6 hours with then Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr at the Senior Bowl. That might be an elaborate smokescreen, but while Carr has 52 touchdown passes in his two years for the Raiders, the Browns are sitting there with a spectacular bust in Gilbert and a giant question mark in Manziel.

When Farmer trusted his plan and the scouting department, the results were significantly better. From the 2^nd round to undrafted free agents, the team was substantially more successful. From picks like Joel Bitonio and Duke Johnson to undrafted gems like Jamie Meder, Farmer was capable of finding talent.

The problem is there was a ton of franchise changing talent in the first round of the 2014 draft, the Browns had two swings and appear to have missed on all of it. Players like Khalil Mack, Odell Beckham, Aaron Donald are taking the league by storm and the Justin Gilbert can’t get on the field.

There is no question that the amount of meddling from ownership as well as others in the front office is a problem, but it also paints a picture of a GM who wasn’t assertive enough to do the job, understanding that whoever the team picked, he would get the credit or blame for it.

Dec 27, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City won the game 17-13. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

The buck stops with the GM. Pettine deserves a ton of blame for wanting Gilbert and Haslam insisting the Browns take Manziel underlines why the Browns are the Browns, but Farmer could’ve stopped both of those things from happening and didn’t.

The GM’s job is to understand what the offense, defense and special teams need and pick players that fit, but how he goes about it is up to him.

He also needs to shut out all the noise, understand that he is the GM and it’s his job to make the call, so if he’s going to get fired anyway, he might as well do it on his own terms. In that respect, Farmer acted like a GM in name only and he has no one but himself to blame for it.

Firing Farmer, if it ultimately happens, certainly does not fix the problems with the team. There are countless issues that need to be addressed and ultimately solved if the team is ever going to be anything but a bottom feeder and one of the worst organizations in professional sports, but need an actual GM who is not afraid to do the job he was hired to do and do it well.

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Farmer may well have an excellent eye for talent, but it doesn’t do much good if he’s not willing to trust it and make the call. The Browns need a GM who won’t draft scared.

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