Ray Farmer, Mike Pettine

Browns GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine are both on the hotseat. Will either one survive?

(John Kuntz / Northeast Ohio Media Group)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns expect to keep coach Mike Pettine and fire general manager Ray Farmer, a source within the organization told Jason Cole of bleacherreport.com.

The Browns slipped to 3-12 after their 17-13 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, giving Pettine his 17th loss in the last 20 games.

But Cole reports that Farmer -- whose player acquisitions have been suspect and who was suspended for the first four games of this season for impermissible texting -- will take the fall for the abysmal record.

"Sources within the Browns' organization say they expect that coach Mike Pettine will survive this season despite the failure of the team,'' he said in a video on the site. "Those sources indicate that the bigger problem within the Browns' organization is not Pettine but is actually General Manager Ray Farmer and the selections that Farmer has made throughout his tenure, and even before that when he was under [former CEO] Joe Banner.''



Cole says that the sources have told him the Browns owner Jimmy Haslam believes that it's Farmer's poor drafting and free-agent pickups that are hurting the team. His 2014 first-round picks, cornerback Justin Gilbert and quarterback Johnny Manziel, haven't lived up to their draft status; and 2015 No. 19 overall pick Cam Erving has struggled as a rookie on the offensive line.



Farmer has also come under heavy fire for signing receiver Dwayne Bowe to a two-year deal worth $12.5 million in the offseason, including $9 million guaranteed. Bowe has been a healthy scratch seven times this season and has five catches for 53 yards.



"The problem here is more of a personnel issue, and that is what is going to have to be fixed by Haslam,'' Cole said.



A league source told cleveland.com that Haslam has not made up his mind yet and that he's taking his time and considering all four of his options: keeping Pettine and Farmer, firing both, or keeping one or the other.



Cole said Haslam's top three candidates to replace Farmer would be Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin; Vikings assistant general manager George Paton; and Chiefs Director of Football Operations Chris Ballard.



"Those three gentlemen are considered the top three candidates by the NFL for possible general manager positions around the league,'' stated Cole. "This is the course that Haslam may take as he tries to fix a continual problem with the Browns since he has taken over the ownership of that team."



Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports reports that he's heard a strong buzz that Packers Director of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf, the son of longtime Packers personnel executive Ron Wolf, would be a Browns GM candidate if Farmer is fired.



He reported "many believe Wolf's father, Ron, will end up consulting for Haslam on the Browns' forthcoming overhaul.''



Wolf has not yet been hired by the Browns and there are no immediate plans to do so, a source said.



LaCanfora also reported that Haslam likes Jacksonville assistant head coach/offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who interviewed for the Browns job but accepted the Buffalo head coach job instead before the 2013 season. The Browns hired Rob Chudzinski instead, and Marrone hired Pettine as his defensive coordinator in Buffalo that year.



He also reported that Haslam would've "moved heaven and earth'' to hire former Broncos and current Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase two years ago. Gase pulled himself out of the running even before interviewing to focus on the Broncos' Super Bowl run. They lost to the Seahawks that year.



Regardless of what Haslam decides, he's likely to announce it as soon as the day after the Browns' finale next week at home against the Steelers.