Cleveland Browns: Investigating the Front Office

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Oct 18, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel warms up before the game against the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

I believe the Browns do have qualified people in the front office if they are simply allowed to operate. Farmer has to find success with opportunities in the first round, but he appears to be connecting on a higher rate of picks than people want to give credit. The problem for Farmer is that when the first round picks fail as badly as they have to this point, many have a distaste built in for the rest of the draft and decisions, no matter how good they are. This is already happening. Bill Kuharich is a qualified personnel man, who is assisting Farmer and was the interim GM during Farmer’s suspension.

The scouting department appears more than capable of doing their job with the amount of players and potential players that have been able to bring into the fold. It remains to be seen if those players can become what this team envisions, but the picks and signings make far more logical, suggest a plan is in place, and appear far less random than regimes in the past.

It is not difficult to outperform the regimes of the past as the Browns draft history going back to 1999 is the stuff of nightmares, but Farmer is likely the best of the bunch. If he can improve, take control of that office and start making the first round an impactful one, it will fast forward their ability to improve.

The lingering issue that the general manager, be it Farmer or someone else, is going to have to deal with and solve is quarterback – the elephant in the room that is really starting to show its age. Even for Manziel’s most devout believers, no one can realistically suggest that the Browns are fine at the quarterback situation. Josh McCown has outperformed expectations, but Manziel’s personal and professional setbacks leave substantial doubt that the Browns have a quarterback that can lead this team to anything but squeaking their way into the playoffs.

With this scouting department, I believe that Farmer and his staff can make the right decision at that position. The key is the rest of that building getting out of the way so the team can make a wholly football decision there. That does not guarantee success by any stretch, but it puts them in the best possible situation to succeed at that position. If they fail, chances are they are getting replaced but they at least did it in the most sterile football environment.

Jimmy Haslam’s ultimate responsibility is creating the most conducive situation for football success. Anything that gets in the way of that, be it his own meddling or people he has hired being unrestricted from focusing on their designated responsibility gets in the way of that and leads to disarray. And if there is failure, it is at least easy to diagnose where the problem is, so it can be addressed. There isn’t a ton of concrete evidence that is what is occurring in the front office, but the drips and dribbles that escape Berea certainly paint an unflattering picture. Everything starts at the top and until that is addressed, Cleveland Browns fans can follow an increasingly indoctrinated philosophy – hope for the best, but expect the worst.

Next: Did a Browns player have one of the best rookie seasons ever?

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