Report: Ray Farmer Responsible for Texting; Loss of Draft Pick?
The Cleveland Browns off-season has gone down hill about as quick as the offense did when it lost Alex Mack. The QB of the Future is in rehab, the stud wide receiver is suspended for a year, the offensive coordinator asked to leave, the QB coach got fired and now we learn that GM Ray Farmer may have been the person texting coaches from the Press Box:
#Browns and GM Ray Farmer facing possible fine, suspension, loss of draft pick for Text-gate. Probe to wrap up soon http://t.co/zRVLD2tTEe
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) February 4, 2015
Wow!
MKC doesn’t have officially that it was Ray Farmer but has multiple sources saying that it is true:
"Multiple league sources have told NEOMG that Farmer was the high-ranking personnel member who violated the NFL’s electronic use policy by the impermissible texting. Those messages were then apparently relayed to the coaches."
Just another black eye on the Browns and maybe the most concerning. Farmer, a former player, has a unique view of the game and may have just wanted to communicate with the coaches after the game. Unfortunately on the field things are not a part of his job.
You might remember that Jimmy Haslam changed the Organizational Chart when he got rid of Joe Banner. Now HC Mike Pettine, Alec Scheiner and Farmer all report directly to Haslam. The normal chain of command has the HC reporting to the GM. Farmer’s role is scouting and player acquisition, Pettine is in charge of on the field.
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Getting fined, losing draft picks and another negative stain on the team is just another day in the life of the Browns. It makes the idea of “Play Like a Brown” also interesting as the GM is breaking rules.
Is texting coaches that big of a deal? Not really. Likely, unlike Deflate-gate, there was no competitive advantage issue related to the texting. Yet that is the reason the rules are in place, to make sure no one is communicating information that could alter the game.
Fans will get angry, media will attack and the Browns will once again have to apologize. We will all move on. Until we finally have a constant winner, and Front Office/Coaching staff, the jokes will come.
Today, it seems, Ray Farmer and the Cleveland Browns deserve those jokes. What will tomorrow bring?
How does this effect how you see Ray Farmer?