Lombardi and Banner gone, Farmer new GM

[Flyin J]

@hoorta said:

There was a video of hm at the Senior Bowl evaluating what he saw to a reporter- it was all I needed to see to know Farmer has more football smarts in his big toe than Lombardi has in his entire body.

I was willing to give Weasel Banner 1\2 a chance until I heard Haslam pulled him out of the NFL Main Office's "I need a job" pool. I said from day one, if Lombardi was that great a FO candidate, why was he on NFLN for years instead? Um- and you have to wonder- with Farmer turning down the Miami GM job, were there already private rumblings this was coming down the pike?

Yes, I noticed the similarity too. Now if he can just draft Neo, Super Bowl here we come. .

PS- when I saw the thread title, I initially thought someone was having an early April Fools joke. Sing a chorus of "Happy Days are Here Again".

Does Neo= Shane Falco?

[miktoxic]

@b86b said:

anyone else see it???

cuz they all look alike?

farmer looks more like a bald lawrence taylor to me. let's just hope he doesn't like crack and hoes.

[Momszer]

http://dawgpoundnation.com/2014/02/11/firing-mike-lombardi-and-joe-banner-what-really-happened/

[Zombo]

@momszer said:

http://dawgpoundnation.com/2014/02/11/firing-mike-lombardi-and-joe-banner-what-really-happened/

Good read.

Zombo

[DieHardBrownsFan]

@miktoxic said:

cuz they all look alike?

farmer looks more like a bald lawrence taylor to me. let's just hope he doesn't like crack and hoes.

Don't matter what they look like. Just fucking do the job.

[The Gipper]

@bermeck08 said:

Loving the board reactions...we're taking it nationally (screw em)... after watching/listening to all the pods, presses, and sound bites - I don't get the feeling of chaos at all... it's pretty calming and bringing some clarity to the off-season.

I agree completely. If the national media would ask any local fan/media person he would be told the same thing...but all they see is that the Browns are getting another operation....not that we have just removed the tumor.

Farmer - hope he's going to be active/available to media and fans- looks like a great promotion

Jimmy - clearly taking "his shot"... whatever the future holds- he said gimme the wheel- "I own this bitch"

Pettin - going it have some say now, that org chart - skinny at the top (as it should be)

Our coordinators ? just getting to know them ... one things for sure, their young, fresh, and are here to prove something

Overall , this fan is excited at the news of the day.... deep draft coming, plenty of picks, and some cap to burn...

Here we go Brownies, here we go !!!!!!!!!!!

Bermeck ( like Jimmy or not... the browns are a story all the time...time to make us "the" story next season

[cdl15]

And Farmer hints towards his draft decision. "I'm taking the best athlete in the draft." Hmmm. Sounds like Sammy Watkins to me.

[Momszer]

Clowney is known as an athletic freak but takes some plays off. Could be him?

[The Gipper]

@momszer said:

http://dawgpoundnation.com/2014/02/11/firing-mike-lombardi-and-joe-banner-what-really-happened/

This article seems to imply that Banner and Lombardi were almost forced upon Haslam by the NFL Front Office. While I do not believe that is true, I do think this was a move to say to the NFL FO that "we can handle things here now boys, we don't need a babysitter".

[cdl15]

I basically called this a week ago. If lombardi even mentioned one word about drafting a qb at 4 he should be immediatly escorted off the property. The way he had Hoyers dick in his mouth for the better part of four years. Lombardi says "Hoyer is my franchise guy" in 2013. and in a mere 9 months hes interested in another young qb???? hes got to go....

[The Gipper]

@cdl15 said:

I basically called this a week ago. If lombardi even mentioned one word about drafting a qb at 4 he should be immediatly escorted off the property. The way he had Hoyers dick in his mouth for the better part of four years. Lombardi says "Hoyer is my franchise guy" in 2013. and in a mere 9 months hes interested in another young qb???? hes got to go....

He is already gone. He has already been "escorted off the property". Where have you been?

[Westside Steve]

@miktoxic said:

farmer looks more like a bald lawrence taylor to me. let's just hope he doesn't like crack and hoes.

come on Mike, who doesn't like crack and hoes?

WSS

[Canton Mike]

Hats off to Jimmy!

I think that ALL, or certainly MOST, of us were living in fear that Lombardi & Banner were going to somehow totally screw this FA period & Draft up, when along comes Jimmy & Ray. Jimmy stepped up, basically admitted mistakes, & by God, he DID something! Is that new (and refreshing) in Cleveland or what?

When I thought Farmer was leaving, I was sick as I thought he SHOULD have been our GM before.

This is a fantastic day for our Browns. Mistakes happen. It's how they are resolved that's important.

Mike

[slimdawg]

@runyon27 said:

Well I think this is good news. Maybe Jimmy could have done this sooner but better late than never. I noticed during the presser when asked about Banner's comment concerning Quinn, Haslam shot back he was full on board with Pettin and wonder if that started things in motion added to wanting to let Mack walk, which I cannnot figure out why we woudl do that given our cap situation and that Mack is young player. Jimmy saw the light and said buck stops with me.

I think the most telling thing about all of this is Jimmy pretty much said that he was dead set on hiring Pettine regardless of what Banner and Lombardi had to say. Also the Browns are retaining all of their scouts, Farmers in charge and Haslem also said that Pettine and the rest of the coaching staff would be involved in evaluating potential draft picks. I figure coaches have always been part of that process in general, but it sounds like they will be heavily involved. Bottom line.......I think Haslem really showed he's gonna do whatever it takes!!

[PoeticG]

The tinfoil in my head whispers that Farmer will be in cahoots with Lobotomy. In his presser he mentioned Lombardi as a very close and good friend. Farmer later he says that he'll get input on players from some bright, smart and creative people that can help him. Part of me thinks Farmer is to be the figurehead that Lombardi refused to be but he'll still have his hand in the jar. Farmer is a good talker and Haslam knows perception is reality. So by appearing to cast off Banner and Lombardi and putting Farmer, who is a good talker, he's changing the perception...

People can form their own opinions on the conspiracy but that may just prove to be my paranoia. The TRUE concerning point of the whole situation is this:

When Pet took the head coaching job he made a statement that was along the lines of- You never fit players to your scheme. You change your scheme to fit your players. But, here's the kicker... Farmer CLEARLY states that he needs to find the PLAYERS to fit the scheme that they want to run...

For two guys that are supposed to work so greatly together, doesn't it seem funny that they would have this fundamental clash?

Now another tinfoil moment- Okay a coach says that he will fit his system to match the players he has. The GM says that he'll get the players to match the scheme. What comes first the chicken or the egg? ...

It's feels kinda like almost to good to be true, like the red and blue pills in the Matrix... fuck it, bottoms up! Lombardi Is gone, and with him the Curse!!

[jcam222]

Farmer made an interesting comment in his interview posted on the team website. He said "just because we have 10 picks doesn't mean we need to use them all this year. Sometimes it makes sense to push some resources forward to the coming year". Does not sound like a guy set on trading up in the draft.

In another interview he had when he was with the Chiefs regarding the draft he mentions the value he puts on a prospects character and off field behavior.

I am liking this guy already.

[DieHardBrownsFan]

I'm not liking anyone because someone thinks they look like some black guy from some shitty movie.

[hish747]

Zombo said:

or

In keeping with the theme…let's hope our coach isn't Cypher...

[hish747]

Seriously though, this is the first time since Jimmy Haslam bought the team that a major move didn't seem calculated to frustrate and disappoint fans in preparation for the inevitable team move.

[VaporTrail]

They have a really, really interesting take on the situation.

Source: http://dawgpoundnation.com/2014/02/11/firing-mike-lombardi-and-joe-banner-what-really-happened/

Emphasis mine

We reported on February 4th that Mike Lombardi was rumored to be on his way out as Browns GM, we ran into a lot of flak and rebuttals. Truth be told, I had heard these rumors starting back around the same time Chud was fired, but didn’t have enough evidence or multiple sources to confirm, so we let it simmer for a while. Patiently, we let the evidence build and more sources leak out and confirm what we had been hearing.

Today, obviously, it came to a head, as in a bombshell (to those who don’t follow us, anyhow) Jimmy Haslam announced the firing of Michael Lombardi and the gradual withdrawal from operations of Joe Banner. Additionally, he announced that Ray Farmer was being promoted as the new GM, something else we mentioned as a very real probability. While it might seem sudden and dishevelled to many, this has been in the works for a long, long time. Let’s take a walk through the past then, and see how we got here.

The groundwork for all of this actually happened as part of the deal that allowed Jimmy Haslam to purchase the Cleveland Browns. As part of the deal (a non-public part of the deal, mind you), Jimmy was required by the NFL to take on Joe Banner as CEO of the franchise. This was presented by the League as a way to help Haslam transition into ownership, and give the League a voice in the Browns consistently struggling front office. Banner actually saw to the inclusion and eventual hiring of Lombardi before Chud was hired, though Lombardi was announced after Chud, to ideally help lessen the inevitable criticism over bringing Lombardi back to the Browns. Sources close to the situation then told us that Haslam was not thrilled about having Banner and Lombardi essentially forced on him, but not wanting to make enemies out of friends, he accepted the deal and bought the team.

Shortly after the purchase was announced, as you all remember, Jimmy H ran into his still on-going legal issues. This left most of the power and day to day control of the organization in the hands of Banner and Lombardi. Which, from sources in Berea, they ran a very secretive, power centric office. They alienated workers, created a borderline hostile environment, and shucked accountability for mistakes, such as the failure in last years draft and free agency. They played fast and loose with Chud, one day accusing him of failing to support players, other days demanding that he cut players (Greg Little, Shawn Laovao) to set an example. The longer this went on, the more the rumors started to leak of trouble in Berea. The Banner/Lombardi regime, however, continued to sell the story of a friendly, excited work place to the likes of Mary Kay and other beat reporters, who gladly gobbled up the stories of hope and happiness. The truth, however, would not stay hidden forever.

As the season went on, it became more and more clear that Lombardi had failed utterly in free agency and the draft the previous year, and we began to see a gradual shift where Ray Farmer had more and more sway in the personnel department. Eventually, before season’s end, Haslam had set Farmer up as the de facto head of personnel, as we saw with Farmer being the sole Browns executive present at any collegiate games and major events toward the end of the regular season and after. After Chud was fired, we heard that Lombardi was next to go. The longer the situation in Berea dragged on, the less Lombardi was included in areas where you’d normally expect to see a GM. This withdrawal was sold as Lombardi not being the face of the franchise, but investigative fans were already looking beneath the surface to see why Lombardi had suddenly vanished from the public’s eye.

The “straw that broke the camel’s back”, I’m told, was the push that Lombardi made for Josh McDaniels. We reported early that McDaniels was all but hired as the Browns next head coach, as our source close to Lombardi said that Lombardi had worked out the particulars behind the scenes before Chud was even fired. When McDaniels turned the job down, it was the last black eye that Jimmy Haslam was prepared to take due to his CEO and GM. Haslam took over the head coach search himself, and was extremely impressed by Mike Pettine. As we know, Pettine was later hired by Haslam.

That takes us up to last week, when we first reported what we could from our investigation into the rumors around Lombardi, as our source (per Shawn) said a move was likely to happen before the draft, and another independent source from Concede put the “Firing Timeline” as before the Combine. We called out that this article written by the often wrong Mary Kay Cabot was conveniently posted the day after we broke the rumors. At this point, Haslam had already maneuvered a replacement for Lombardi (in Ray Farmer) and hand-picked his own head coach (Pettine). It was at this point that Haslam decided to liquidate Joe Banner’s position, and restructure the Browns so that the GM and Coach both had a direct line to his office, and so that he would personally oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization.

In probably the most Godfather/Game of Thrones narrative you could imagine for a football franchise, you can see how this entire tale of backdoor dealings, power struggles and behind the scenes maneuvers has led us to today, when Haslam gave the word and seized complete control of his organization. Where will this all end up? Too early to say, and I’d be lying if I said I had some clairvoyance to that end. But, I can’t help but feel like the good guys won this round.

This is fucked up. And it just goes to show you how shitty Mary Kay Cabot is as a beat reporter. Trying to say that everything is okay when clearly there's a hurricane building inside.