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Ray Farmer

AFC North Notes: Browns, Shazier, Dennard

May 9th, 2014 at 1:27pm CST by Matt Feminis

Although there was some speculation that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam may have had a hand in the club’s decision to trade up for Johnny Manziel, GM Ray Farmer says that “at no point in the draft did Jimmy try to influence the decisions that were made” (Twitter link via Lindsay Jones of USA Today). Meanwhile, head coach Mike Pettine says Manziel won’t simply be handed the starting job, and that he’ll compete with Brian Hoyer, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter).

  • Ryan Shazier, drafted 15th overall by the Steelers, “has no holes” according to head coach Mike Tomlin, who was quoted by Ed Bouchette in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • In an additional blog post, Bouchette defended the selection: “Shazier is exactly the kind of player Chuck Noll told Art Rooney Jr. he needed when the Steelers hired him to coach them in 1969 – great athletes with great production. That’s what Shazier has. . .He also has the kind of speed where you could line him up with some of the fastest wide receivers and cornerbacks and he would beat most of them to the tape.”
  • Sitting at No. 46 in the second round, the Steelers could benefit from an expected run of offensive linemen, says ESPN’s Scott Brown, who lists ten prospects who could be on the Steelers radar, four of which are echoed by Bouchette: Penn State WR Allen Robinson, Indiana WR Cody Latimer, Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt and Minnesota defensive lineman Ra’Shede Hageman.
  • Also buried in Bouchette’s post were a few tidbits: Shazier is an obvious upgrade over Vince Williams, especially when it comes to speed and range; Shazier might have been preferred over CJ Mosley, in part, because of durability; and anything the team gets out of Sean Spence will be a bonus, as they are “not counting on him at all.”
  • Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome was looking for a “bonanza” to move off the 17th pick, which he used to select Mosley, whose combination of outstanding tape and special intangibles impressed team brass. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec quotes assistant GM Eric DeCosta, who raved about Mosley: “He’s fast, instinctive, tough, smart, talented, a playmaker. People always ask about the best available player and what that means. He was the best available player on our board and he would have been the best available player on our board at 10. He’s a great football player.”
  • As they did with Alabama product Dre Kirkpatrick two years ago, the Bengals won’t ask Darqueze Dennard to start in his first year, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Farmer, Cowboys, Packers

February 16th, 2014 at 11:11pm CST by David Kipke

As we continue to approach the 2014 NFL Draft, various teams have begun to discuss information regarding their draft preferences. According to FanNation, new Browns GM Ray Farmer has stated that he knows which quarterback he wants to draft in May — but he’s not willing to share. Farmer has final say over the 53-man roster, and it remains to be seen whether or not he would be open to changing his mind should coach Mike Pettine or offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan prefer a different quarterback.

Here are a few more tidbits surrounding teams and their draft preferences…

  • Assistant director of player personnel for the Cowboys, Will McClay, spoke with KRLD-FM 105.3 sports radio and disclosed his thoughts that having “good football character” is an important quality in a draft prospect.
  • The Dallas Morning News’ SportsDayDFW took a look at players that the team might be interested in drafting in the first round. The outlet also covers what 10 offensive lineman, wide receivers, quarterbacks, and linebackers that it thinks that the Cowboys will be most interested in drafting this May.
  • Weston Hodkiewicz of Press-Gazette Media writes that after a series of whiffs by the front office on high draft picks in recent years, the Packers‘ 2014 first round pick will be the team’s most important draft pick in recent history. Hodkiewicz highlighted Alabama junior safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama linebacker C. J. Mosley, and North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron as potential Packer first-round targets.

AFC Notes: Steelers, Patriots, Browns

February 16th, 2014 at 9:03am CST by Rory Parks

There has been a great deal of speculation regarding what the Steelers will do with their talented duo of LaMarr Woodley and Jason Worilds, but Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gives the most definitive prediction to date. He writes that “it is just not conceivable” that the team will be able to retain both players for the 2014 season, and he believes Woodley will be odd-man out. By cutting Woodley now, the Steelers would suffer a $14.17MM cap hit this year, which is not significantly more than the $13.59MM hit they would take if they kept him. Plus, after 2014, he would be off the books entirely, which is a tantalizing prospect for a team that has backed itself into a difficult salary-cap situation.

Of course, as has been noted previously, Pittsburgh could designate Woodley as a post-June 1 release, which would spread out the $14.17MM hit over the 2014 and 2015 seasons and give the team an extra $8MM to spend this year. However, that $8MM would not become available until after June 1, which would limit what the Steelers could do in free agency (either with their own free agents or with those from other clubs). Whichever route the team takes, Bouchette believes Woodley has played his last game as a Steeler.

Other notes from the AFC:

  • Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes the Steelers will not re-sign Emmanuel Sanders, and Christopher Price of WEEI.com thinks the Patriots would take another shot at Sanders if he is, in fact, still available when free agency begins in March. New England, of course, signed Sanders to an offer sheet last offseason when he was a restricted free agent, prompting Pittsburgh to match the offer to retain the speedy wideout. If New England were to re-sign Julian Edelman, then the Patriots would likely not pursue Sanders, as the two players offer similar skill-sets. But if Edelman finds greener pastures elsewhere, Sanders may become a top free-agent priority for New England.
  • Meanwhile, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald thinks that, now the Larry Fitzgerald-to-New England dream is dead, the Patriots will not look outside its own roster to find the big-play outside receiver the team covets. The answer, she writes, could be second-year man Aaron Dobson, who has all the physical tools and who looked better and better as the 2013 season progressed.
  • In a recent Q & A with Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, new Browns GM Ray Farmer indicates that he has a favorite quarterback in this year’s draft class, but that quarterback may not be Johnny Manziel. In fact, Farmer said the QB he likes “may not be the name that everybody thinks is the latest, greatest, and the easy one to spot,” and he suggested that Cleveland’s No. 4 overall pick may be too high for this unnamed player. Farmer is already adept at “GM-speak,” as the rest of his answers consisted primarily of the vague generalities one would expect from a high-ranking executive at this time of the year, but his musings about his favorite QB are nonetheless intriguing.

Extra Points: Verner, Flynn, Clowney, Farmer

February 13th, 2014 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Coming off his rookie contract, Pro Bowl cornerback Alterraun Verner is set to hit the open market next month, and Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean believes it may be difficult for the Titans to lock him up before March 11 (Twitter link). According to Wyatt (via Twitter), there has been “little to no movement” in talks between the two sides so far, though they’ll likely meet at next week’s scouting combine. After snatching five interceptions and defending 23 passes in 2013, Verner will be in line for a nice raise on 2013’s $1.32MM base salary, meaning he could be looking forward to gauging his value on the open market.

Let’s round up a few more Thursday items from around the NFL….

  • New Packers QB coach Alex Van Pelt praised Matt Flynn’s track record and indicated that he’s “excited to hopefully get him back in here,” according to Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Flynn is eligible for unrestricted free agency this offseason.
  • Texans safety D.J. Swearinger tells Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle that he keeps in contact with former South Carolina teammate Jadeveon Clowney, who is pushing hard to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. “He’s talking about, ‘Man, what’s the word [on the Texans’ pick]?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. I’m going to try my best to do what I can to get you here,'” Swearinger said.
  • In the second half of a two-part Q&A with Ray Farmer, Tony Grossi asked the new Browns GM about the importance of landing an elite quarterback, as well as discussing Farmer’s philosophy in approaching free agency and the draft.
  • Cornerback Jabari Greer is taking yesterday’s release from the Saints in stride, as he tells Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. While Greer didn’t expect to be cut, he noted that “you can’t ever be surprised” by it, particularly when you’re on the wrong side of 30.
  • Rick Spielman‘s long-term future as the Vikings‘ general manager may depend on his ability to find the team a solution at quarterback, an issue he’ll address this offseason, writes Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.

Browns Rumors: Parcells, Banner, Draft

February 12th, 2014 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

Before announcing their new front office structure, the Browns targeted Bill Parcells to run the franchise, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. While Freeman’s report comes via an unnamed source, Parcells himself tells the BR scribe that he only spoke to the Browns about why organizations succeed and fail.

Parcells has previously served as the Jets’ general manager and, more recently, as the executive VP of football operations in Miami with the Dolphins. However, he hasn’t worked with an NFL team in an official capacity for the last several years. While Freeman’s report remains unconfirmed, it’s not a stretch to think that the Browns would have approached him about a position in the organization, nor is it hard to believe that Parcells passed, given his age (72) and the way in which the club’s coaching search played out.

Here’s more on the team’s front office shakeup and fallout:

  • TheMMQB.com’s Peter King took an extended look at the situation in Cleveland, passing along an anecdote about the team’s interview of coaching canidate Ken Whisenhunt which illustrated why owner Jimmy Haslam made the decision to part ways with CEO Joe Banner — according to King, Haslam had become increasingly “dubious about Banner’s football acumen,” which was openly questioned by Whisenhunt during his interview.
  • King hears from a source that, after strong recommendations by Bill Belichick and Urban Meyer, Haslam was interested in interviewing former Bucs coach Greg Schiano for Cleveland’s opening. However, Banner wanted nothing to do with Schiano, whose stint in Tampa had been rocky, and was cold to him during his interview, according to the source. The incident further illustrated the “major rift” among the Browns’ decision-makers, King writes.
  • King backs up a Tuesday report which suggested that Banner and Michael Lombardi were shocked by the abrupt announcement by Haslam.
  • The Browns “seem prepared to move heaven and earth” to draft a franchise quarterback in the first round of May’s draft, according to King.
  • Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer spoke to a number of people around the league about new Browns GM Ray Farmer, and the consensus was that Farmer is ready to take on the role.
  • Earlier today, we heard that the Browns are negotiating a long-term contract with cornerback Joe Haden.

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.

AFC North Notes: Farmer, Dickson, Bengals

February 4th, 2014 at 8:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun wrote that the Ravens will likely target either an offensive lineman or a receiving weapon with their first-round pick. There has been speculation this offseason that Baltimore would zero in on a big receiver in the mold of Anquan Boldin and while Ravens fans would certainly welcome the veteran back to M&T Bank Stadium, a return is considered quite unlikely. Here’s more out of the AFC North..

  • Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer passed up the Dolphins GM job because he feels that the Browns are poised to “redefine the history books,” writes Mary Kay Cabot of Northeast Ohio Media Group. “I didn’t finish the process,” said Farmer. “I assume they would’ve given me the job. That’s the way it was articulated to me. If I took the job, I would’ve reported directly to (Dolphins owner) Stephen Ross and it was a tremendous opportunity. It still is a dream of mine to become a general manager and run my own program and put together my own team, but it wasn’t the right time for me.”
  • Which Ravens free agents will stay and which ones will go? Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com does his best to sort it all out. Smolka predicts that nose tackle Terrence Cody, linebacker James Ihedigbo, defensive lineman Art Jones, and tight ends Dallas Clark and Ed Dickson will be among the players in different uniforms next season.
  • Coley Harvey of ESPN.com handicaps the odds of each Bengals free agent staying put in Cincinnati. Guard Mike Pollak and wide receiver Andrew Hawkins are among those likely to re-sign.

Latest On Dolphins’ GM Search

January 23rd, 2014 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Browns executive Ray Farmer, who had been considered a frontrunner for the Dolphins’ general manager job, will forgo a second interview with Miami to remain in Cleveland, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. After initially reporting (via Twitter) that Farmer had decided to stay with the Browns, La Canfora added that John Wooten of the Fritz Pollard Alliance urged Farmer to reconsider and take a second interview to work through some of his reservations about the position (Twitter links). However, it doesn’t appear as if Farmer will heed that recommendation, as the Browns’ front office confirmed today that the assistant GM will continue on with the club (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal).

By pulling his named out of contention, Farmer becomes the latest in a string of GM candidates to come off the board for the Dolphins. Most recently, Jason Licht, another strong contender for Miami’s opening, reached an agreement with the Buccaneers to become the new GM in Tampa Bay.

La Canfora reported (Twitter links) last night that Omar Kahn of the Steelers, Lake Dawson of the Titans, and Brian Xanders of the Lions weren’t considered finalists, leaving Dennis Hickey of the Bucs and internal candidate Brian Gaine as contenders for the job. According to a tweet from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport though, Dawson will receive a third interview this week with the Dolphins, so perhaps the removal of Farmer from the mix prompted the Dolphins to reconsider Dawson’s candidacy.

The Dolphins are expected to hire a GM next week, according to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post.