I don’t want to see anyone lose their job.
All of us have done so at one time or another. In fact, many of us were included in the purge of jobs that was caused by the economic downturn at the end of the last decade.
It’s not pretty. It never is.
But with all that having been said, it’s time for Browns General Manager Ray Farmer to go. We’re not talking about at the end of the season, which will happen if he makes it until then, but instead right now, this moment, this instant.
The Browns didn’t miss Farmer when he missed the first four games of the season after being suspended by the NFL for his involvement in Textgate. And they won’t miss him if he misses the last four games.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has to do it as a way of saying that he, too, is fed up, just like the fans, with the team’s performance and with that of Farmer, in particular, and he’s not going to wait any longer to start doing something about it.
Doing nothing – or even waiting until the season is over to do something — is to sign off on all the mistakes Farmer has made, and to ignore how much harm they have caused the franchise.
Indeed, enough is enough, and there are more than enough reasons to get rid of Farmer now. But for the purpose of this piece, we’ll ignore all of the reasons except for the four biggest and most important ones – that is, what he has done, or, as it were, not done, with a combined total of four first-round picks in the NFL Draft the last two years.
In 2014, Farmer drafted cornerback Justin Gilbert at No. 8 overall and Johnny Manziel at No. 22.
In 2015, he drafted defensive tackle Danny Shelton at No. 12 overall and offensive lineman Cameron Erving at No. 19.
There is a search party out as we speak trying to find where Gilbert is buried on the bench. He is one of the team’s all-time draft busts.
Manziel leads the league in partying and, in being the size and build of Pee Wee Herman and Richard Simmons, is way too small and fragile to absorb the constant pounding that NFL quarterbacks take.
Shelton helps anchor the worst rush defense in the NFL, and also probably the worst in the Browns history. The next time he makes a significant play will be the first time.
Erving has finally been benched after being driven by defensive linemen so far into the backfield so many times that referees were beginning to make him report in as an eligible receiver before each play.
The draft, in providing an infusion of young talent, is the lifeblood of every NFL team. And those first-round picks are a team’s heartbeat.
To have blown four first-round picks in two seasons, and to have done so in such dramatic fashion, is a big reason why the Browns are dead in the water with a 2-10 record and a seven-game losing streak.
It does no good to let Framer hang around any longer – not even a second longer — and do anything else to mess things up even more for the next GM and head coach.
As such, if Haslam is really sincere about the Browns becoming a winner on his watch, then he’ll do what obviously has to be done, and he’ll do it now.
And if he isn’t, then he won’t.
It’s that simple.
And as for what happens to Farmer after he gets fired, don’t worry. He’ll be fine. This is not like a worker at the plant getting shown the door and wondering how he’s going to provide for his family. Farmer has a king’s ransom worth of riches he was paid by Haslam to … well, ruin his football team.
