Ray Farmer drafted Johnny Manziel with the Cleveland Browns in 2014.
The Houston Texans sent Brian Gaine packing from his general manager job on Friday after less than two years on the job — a stunning move considering the franchise went 11-5 a year ago, won the AFC South and the season is creeping closer by the day.
“After a thorough evaluation of our football operations, we have decided to relieve Brian Gaine of his duties as general manager,” Houston chairman and chief executive officer Cal McNair said in a statement. “While the timing may be unusual, this decision was made in the best interest of our organization in our quest to build a championship team for the City of Houston.”
The Texans are fielding interviews for the vacant position and have reportedly already met with former Browns GM Ray Farmer — the man who drafted Johnny Manziel with a first round pick.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport calling it an “intriguing option” might as well have been an all caps “LOL.”
Saying you want to build a championship team and then interviewing Farmer is a hilarious move.
The same year Farmer drafted Manziel, he also passed on the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald to draft Justin Gilbert — a corner out of Oklahoma State — No. 8 overall. Gilbert started just three games in his NFL career and recorded one interception.
The ESPN report on the Browns’ dysfunction says that in the 2015 NFL draft, GM Ray Farmer passed on all the players the analytics people wanted him to take in the late rounds. For the record, Farmer had seven picks on Day 3 that year and none of them are still on the Browns.
To add to the embarrassment, in 2015 the NFL suspended Farmer for four games and fined the Browns $250,000 for sending text messages to coaches during games.
Linebacker Christian Kirksey, offensive lineman Joel Bitonio and now disgruntled running back Duke Johnson Jr. were among the few successful picks by Farmer.
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On top of that, Farmer hasn’t worked in the NFL since 2015 when he was fired from his GM position with the Browns. Cleveland went 3-13 during Farmer’s final year on the job and was still paying for many of his mistakes when the 0-16 season of 2017 occurred.
Texan fans don’t have to start sweating yet though. As John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported, Farmer is one of many candidates for the position.
Confirming @RapSheet report about former Cleveland GM Ray Farmer. He’s being interviewed today for Texans GM job, one of lots of candidates.
However, Houston needs to work to fill the position quickly to get the season started on the right foot.
GettyGeneral Manager John Dorsey (left) of the Cleveland Browns
John Dorsey Has Browns Set Up For Success
Once the basement-dwellers of the NFL, the Cleveland Browns are trending upward in a big way.
Savvy moves from GM John Dorsey to acquire stars Odell Beckham Jr., Olivier Vernon and Kareem Hunt in the offseason have Cleveland in position to be a legit Super Bowl contender.
The Browns have even been the second most bet on team to win the Super Bowl this offseason, behind only the Chicago Bears, according to Caesars Palace.
The team’s regular season win total over-under has also steadily climbed, now sitting at 9.5. The Browns have not won 10 games since 2007 under Romeo Crennel.
Beckham — who impressed at his initial minicamp after landing in Cleveland via an offseason blockbuster — is ready to get the train moving in the right direction.
“This game is about winning,” Beckham told reporters this week. “I’d much rather be in the playoffs than go for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns, because I’m supposed to do that anyway…I’m ready to get back to the playoffs and show what I can do.”
The Browns have some time off before assembling for training camp at the end of July.
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