LA Rams News: Front office targeted by Falcons and Jaguars

Farmer-Jaguars

The Cleveland Browns hired Ray Farmer as their General Manager in 2014. But they parted ways with Farmer two years later in January 2016.  And in those two years, we learned almost nothing about Ray Farmer’s ability to hire and build an NFL roster and coaching staff. All we learned was that the Cleveland Browns, one of the most inept organizations of their time, were still hell-bent on remaining inept.

Ray Farmer did not draft well as a Cleveland Brown GM. He was responsible for drafting cornerback Justin Gilbert and quarterback Johnny Manziel. But in two years’ time, he never hired his coaching staff. So he was truly shackled with building a roster for a head coach who owed no allegiance to him and did not share his philosophy. And so, he was gone in two years.

Scouting consultant

Rams GM Les Snead has deep ties with Ray Farmer, as he hired Farmer to join the scouting department of the Atlanta Falcons in 2002. In fact, Les Snead has always had praise for Ray Farmer since hiring him:

"‘He is a people person who genuinely wants to build a united team on the field and inside the building. He knows this requires asking inquisitive, but often hard, questions as well as listening to the answers to those questions.’- Les Snead as quoted by ESPN Staff Writer Nick Wagoner"

And now, Ray Farmer is up for another GM job.

This time it is for the General Manager position for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Why he could fail

While Ray Farmer assumed virtually a no-win situation in taking on the General Manager position of the Cleveland Browns, he did indeed take on the role. While there, his NFL Draft results were borderline ghastly as noted earlier. But he did have some success as well. drafting Pro Bowl offensive guard Joel Bitonio with the 35th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Does Farmer have enough connections to jump into a Jaguars organization loaded with so much potential but need to repair the culture and roster simultaneously? That is a huge task and one that Farmer may not be up to accomplish.

Why he could succeed

A lot of negative events snowballed while Ray Farmer was the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns. But Farmer didn’t start the fire, and it has taken that organization years to finally launch the team in a positive direction. The Jaguars are a far more selective and slow-paced organization. And for as long as memory serves, the Browns have been the NFL’s poster child of ‘don’t let this happen to you’ for many years.  It’s tough to define Ray Farmer’s role with the Rams, or how he and fellow scouting consultants Cedric Jones and Lawrence McCutcheon interact with the organization, but he has been linked to a team that has been incredibly successful since 2017.

All in all, two members of the front office are in the running for General Manager jobs. Hopefully, the Rams will continue to excel at finding the right talent for this team.  But for both Brad Holmes and Ray Farmer, best of luck. You both are deserving of a promotion, and our gratitude for a job well done with the LA Rams.