The Browns declared Thursday a double-win, as they found a coach in Mike Pettine, and were able to hold onto a key member of their personnel department as well.
With assistant general manager Ray Farmer pulling out of the Dolphins G.M. search, the Browns took a step toward stability.
“Yes, Ray is staying,’' Browns president Joe Banner said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Double good day. We’ve retained an outstanding employee that we were excited when he decided a year ago to come here, and we’re really excited that he decided to stay.
“I’ve been calling Ray an up-and-coming star, which probably haunted us and tipped off the rest of the league how good he was, so I’ll be more careful. He’s an up-and-coming star. He’s a high, high character, outstanding employee and a really valuable part of our team.’'
Owner Jimmy Haslam said he met with Farmer Thursday morning, and was relieved to hang onto him.
“It’s a compliment to our organization that another organization wants to hire him to kind of go from the No. 2 position to the No. 1 position,” Haslam said. “I’m really excited Ray’s standing. He’s smart, he’s focused, he’ll play a key role in this draft and in free agency.”
While Farmer sticking around Cleveland might say more about the current perceived dysfunction in Miami (and roll that around in your head for a minute), it does benefit the Browns, by not disrupting a scouting system that was already in mid-stream.