Michael Lombardi

Latest On Browns’ Front Office

February 13th, 2014 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

After parting ways with the Browns, former Cleveland general manager Michael Lombardi doesn’t seem likely to rejoin the NFL Network or another media outlet. Instead, it appears Lombardi could reach an agreement with the Patriots to join New England’s front office. Chris Fedor of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland first reported (via Twitter) that Lombardi seemed to be on track to join the Patriots, though he cautioned that nothing was finalized yet. Several other similar reports followed, most recently from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who tweets this morning that Lombardi has had discussions about joining the Pats, though “nothing is firm or official yet.”

While Lombardi talks to the Patriots, Ray Farmer is settling into his role as the Browns’ new GM, and CEO Joe Banner is in the process of transitioning out of the organization. We have a few more details on them and some leftovers from the Browns’ coaching search, so let’s round up the highlights….

League sources tell Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Banner and Lombardi ended on bad terms with one another in Cleveland, with their discord prompting owner Jimmy Haslam to let go of both execs.
According to Cabot, Banner wanted to fire Lombardi by the end of the team’s lengthy coaching search. At the same time, Haslam had grown weary of Banner, feeling that some of the Browns’ head coaching targets weren’t willing to accept, or even interview for, the club’s coaching job because of Banner’s position in the front office.
Ken Whisenhunt and Bill O’Brien were among the candidates who had concerns about the Browns’ management team, according to Cabot.
In addition to there being internal discord over Greg Schiano‘s candidacy, as we heard yesterday, Haslam and Banner were also at odds over Josh McDaniels, says Cabot. Haslam was more enthusiastic about McDaniels, and while reports indicated McDaniels pulled out of the mix, the Patriots offensive coordinator actually contacted the Browns to get his name back into consideration. He remained in the running right up until the Browns decided on Mike Pettine, according to Cabot.
Cabot writes that Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase was the only candidate on the Browns’ list to actually decline an interview, which seems to contradict an earlier suggestion that O’Brien wasn’t interested in interviewing with the team. Perhaps O’Brien wasn’t formally on the Browns’ list of targets this time around, after interviewing with the club a year ago.
In the first installment of a two-part piece for ESPNCleveland.com, Tony Grossi spoke to Farmer about taking over as the Browns’ general manager.

Latest On Browns’ Front Office Shakeup

February 11th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Browns shocked the football world today when they announced that Ray Farmer has been promoted to general manager, replacing Michael Lombardi, who is leaving the organization. Meanwhile, CEO Joe Banner is also on his way out, though not immediately. The Browns held a press conference this morning to discuss the front office overhaul, but before they did, a number of reports about the moves surfaced:

A league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that owner Jimmy Haslam felt like Lombardi had to go and that Farmer deserved to have complete control over the football decisions, “unfettered by Banner’s authority” in football operations.
Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports suggests (via Twitter) that failing to deliver on who they could hire to replace former coach Rob Chudzinski may have doomed Lombardi and Banner in Cleveland.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport passes along a few notable tidbits on the Browns’ coaching search, tweeting that Farmer wasn’t present during Pettine’s interview. Rapoport adds that if Cleveland had been able to hire Adam Gase of the Broncos, the club wanted to pair him with Seahawks exec Scot McCloughan, replacing Lombardi (Twitter link).
Rapoport also reports (via Twitter) that the team secretly interviewed Wisconsin’s Gary Andersen back in January. The Badgers coach confirmed as much to Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports (Twitter link): “After our initial conversation, I decided not to pursue the position.”
Lombardi and Banner were surprised and “devastated” by the Browns’ decision, according to Will Burge of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Burge also hears from a source (Twitter link) that Haslam made the announcement rather abruptly in a meeting this morning.

At today’s press conference, Haslam began by taking questions from reporters on his own, addressing many lingering questions, including a few of the topics mentioned in the above list. Here are the highlights from Haslam (all link go to various reporters’ Twitter accounts):

Banner will continue to work in a transitional role in the organization until May or June.
Farmer, head coach Mike Pettine, and team president Alec Scheiner will all report directly to Haslam.
Haslam had nothing but praise for Banner and Lombardi, suggesting that the duo had left the team in a good position with regard to the draft and cap space.
The team has no regrets about its head coach and is happy with the one it landed, in Pettine. Haslam added that reports of candidates not wanting to speak to the Browns are inaccurate.
Haslam shot down the idea of the Browns as a dysfunctional organization, or one without any continuity, pointing to the fact that Farmer has been in the front office for a year and the team’s scouts are already in place, so it’s not a complete overhaul.
Today’s moves are the last major changes coming to the Browns organization. Presumably, that statement applies to the 2014 offseason.
Farmer will have the final say on the Browns’ 53-man roster, while Pettine will make the decisions on game-day rosters.
Farmer played a key role in the Browns’ coaching search. However, that role primarily involved information gathering rather than actually being in on the interviews.
Haslam wouldn’t say whether any coaching candidates told him they wouldn’t accept the job if Banner or Lombardi was employed.
Haslem didn’t promise Farmer the Browns’ GM job to get him to remove his name from the Dolphins’ GM search.

Finally, Farmer took to the microphone and spoke to the media about a number of topics. Here were the noteworthy takeaways from the new GM’s portion of the presser (all Twitter links):

Farmer has signed a four-year deal with the Browns, which should keep him under contract through the 2017 season.
The Dolphins GM job was “not right” for Farmer, according to the new Browns GM, dismissing the idea that he withdrew his name from consideration because he knew the promotion in Cleveland was coming.
Farmer sidestepped football-related questions about the franchise tag and D’Qwell Jackson‘s contract situation, indicating that those decisions will be made at a later date.
While Farmer had been in communication with Haslam for a few days about the upcoming front office changes, he didn’t know definitively until last night that he’d be promoted to GM.
The team is in contact with troubled receiver Davone Bess, and the Browns’ top priority is making sure he gets any help he needs.

Farmer In, Lombardi Out As Browns GM

February 11th, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Browns have officially named Ray Farmer the team’s new general manager, the club announced today. Michael Lombardi, the previous GM in Cleveland, has been let go, while Joe Banner is stepping down from his position as CEO and will transition out of the organization within the next few months, says Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Vic Carucci of ClevelandBrowns.com (Twitter link), the Browns will hold a press conference at 11:30am ET to discuss the front office shakeup.

“The purpose of these moves is to unify our team with one, unequivocal goal: Provide our fans with the winning organization they have long deserved,” said owner Jimmy Haslam in a statement.

The organizational changes have already raised eyebrows among reporters and fans, since Banner and Lombardi had essentially only been with the team for one full season, and the new roles are taking effect right before many key offseason dates. For his part, Banner left his role as Eagles president in 2012 after spending nearly two decades with the franchise, as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes (via Twitter). Now, less than 18 months after joining the Browns, Banner is on his way out.

While the Browns didn’t have an overly successful year on the field in 2013, the team continued to add young players and maintain cap flexibility, as well as landing a first-round pick from the Colts in exchange for Trent Richardson. However, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network (Twitter link), “word was rampant that Haslam was embarrassed by how the Browns were viewed locally in January,” prompting organizational changes. Haslam also gave former head coach Rob Chudzinski only one season in Cleveland, firing him at season’s end and replacing him with Mike Pettine.

As for Farmer, he had been in the mix for the Dolphins’ general manager position, but pulled out of the mix, a decision that makes sense in retrospect, assuming he knew these changes were in the works in Cleveland.