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Browns assistant general manager Ray Farmer, second to the left, works closes with GM Michael Lombardi, left, team president Alec Scheiner and CEO Joe Banner.

(John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio – Ray Farmer’s office on the renovated second floor of Browns headquarters looks like the typical work space of a man in his first week of employment.

An unopened box with belongings from his last job in Kansas City sits on the floor. His desktop is tidy and organized. The walls in the dimly lit office are not festooned with pictures, paintings or artifacts from his NFL playing days. There’s a big-screen television and notes he’s scribbled on a dry-erase board on the wall facing his desk.

The Browns might give the new guy a day to settle in and decorate if he hadn't been here since March 5.

“I don’t have a lot of time for stuff on the walls,” said the franchise’s assistant general manager. “My stuff on the walls are ideas.”

Browns CEO Joe Banner, who hired the 39-year-old executive he calls an “up-and-coming star in the league,” proffers another theory for Farmer’s lack of interior design.

“Maybe it’s because he’s always in the film room,” Banner said. “Ray’s work ethic is as good as anybody in the business, and I know a lot of hard workers. If he’d take a few hours off, maybe he could hang a few things on the walls.”

That’s not going to happen. There are too many reports to write, films to break down, free agents to analyze, people to meet.

Farmer can’t help resuscitate a losing team with an inspirational poster bearing Vince Lombardi’s likeness. He knows only one way, and it starts at 4:30 every morning in this corner office when he’s not on the road scouting or attending Browns games.

This weekend, Farmer joins the club on its trip to Kansas City, where he spent seven memorable seasons and one “awful, awful, awful” day with the Chiefs. He returns as a decision maker who has a say in every facet of football operations alongside Banner, general manager Michael Lombardi and coach Rob Chudzinski.

The Browns didn’t trade halfback Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round pick last month, Banner said, without Farmer’s input. (He favored making the deal.)

Former longtime NFL team executive Scott Pioli describes Farmer as a general manager in-waiting. The son of Ruthie and Ray Farmer wants that role, too, but practices the patience his parents instilled in him.

After 11 years of “worker bee,” employment in Atlanta and Kansas City, Farmer is excited to make substantive decisions for an NFL organization.

“I feel like this is what I’ve been waiting for – to demonstrate what my capabilities are and to make the group as successful as can be,” he said. “It’s like the point guard who finally gets into the game. Now, what are you going to do with your chance? I may pass, I may shoot, but the weird part is I have no fear of turning it over. Whatever happens it’s going to be good.

Making the grade

Farmer was a three-sport athlete in high school, a career nearly cut short by a “C” grade on a report card during his freshman year.

His father, a truck driver, did not abide mediocrity from his two sons, Ray and Roger. Didn’t matter Ray was playing varsity as ninth-grader. He told the boy to turn in his pads and focus on his studies.

“My coach came to our house and said he’d walk me to study hall if that’s what it took,” recalled Farmer, who grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C. “He let me back on the team and that’s the last ‘C’ I ever got.”

Ray Farmer, right, spent seven seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he worked as the Director of Pro Personnel. Here he is shown greeting Chiefs running back Larry Johnson in 2007.

He earned a football scholarship to Duke, where he graduated with a degree in sociology and received certificates in markets and management and African Studies. If he applies himself, one day he might be as smart as his brother, who has a computer science doctorate from Vanderbilt.

Farmer played three seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, starting 16 games between 1996 and 1998 before a knee injury shortened his career. After returning to his alma mater to serve as its academic coordinator for the football program, his agent found him work in the Falcons scouting department in 2002.

He joined the Chiefs in 2006 and three years later found himself under Pioli, who worked for the Browns, New York Jets and New England Patriots before being named Kansas City’s general manager in 2009.

What impressed Pioli was how quickly Farmer adjusted to the organization’s new direction and philosophies. He also liked his confidence and willingness to speak up and respectfully disagree with superiors. Pioli streamlined Farmer’s duties, which included scouting all players with pro experience in the NFL and Canadian Football League.

“I think he became the best Director of Pro Personnel in the league,” Pioli said. “Every year we gave him more responsibility. He never complained and never broke his loyalty to me or the organization. That’s rare in this business."

When Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel were fired at the end of last season, the Chiefs interviewed Farmer for the general manager’s opening that went to Green Bay Packers personnel man John Dorsey. He also interviewed for the same vacancy in Cleveland, a job Banner filled with Lombardi.

Farmer said his lack of experience on the college side and the fact he never ran a draft hurt his candidacy.

Pioli believes Farmer merited a top job during last offseason, when no minorities were hired for the eight coaching and seven GM openings. The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority for such positions.

“He’s absolutely ready,” Pioli said. “I think it’s shameful he didn’t get more interviews and offers in a league that talks so much about diversity. Kudos to (Browns owner) Jimmy Haslam, Joe and Mike for giving him a seat at their leadership table. You’re not going to find someone who’s more intelligent and hard working.”

Dorsey and new Chiefs coach Andy Reid wanted to retain Farmer, but when Banner contacted him about the assistant GM position, he opted to make the jump.

“For me being involved at a micro level on bigger decisions is probably the best part,” Farmer said.

“The details of the job are more in my lap here than they were in Kansas City. I was more of a worker bee there, where here I’m helping set the course of action as well as watching the tape and continuing to be part of the grind.”

‘Turning over stones’

Sitting at a small table in the back of his office, Farmer spoke Wednesday morning about a variety of Browns topics:

On injured quarterback Brian Hoyer: "I think he's got a lot of pieces to the puzzle and he demonstrated in those several weeks he could be a championship-level quarterback."

On finding the Browns' elusive franchise quarterback: "(Former Packers GM) Ron Wolf's philosophy is take a quarterback every year. You never know where they are going to come from and who is going to develop and become the next great one. So we just keep turning over stones."

On first-round pick Barkevious Mingo: "I know Mingo is going to be a really good player. He has special traits and qualities that he already has demonstrated in the early part of his career."



Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer works in both college and pro player evaluation.

On cornerback Leon McFadden, who's yet to take a snap on defense: "The third-round pick is not playing currently. That's OK. Some guys come along different than others. That doesn't mean the movie is written."

On receiver Josh Gordon and the persistent trade rumors: "When we moved Trent, the speculation became 'they will move anybody,' and I don't know that's really the case. Speculation and innuendo have done Josh more harm with his name being in the paper than anything. I think that's unfortunate . . . There's a lot of people speculating on what we might do. We don't know what we're going to do."

Farmer echoed the comments of Banner and Chudzinski, who said Gordon is not being shopped. But it’s naïve to think the Browns aren’t weighing offers for a receiver who’s a failed drug test from serving a minimum of a one-year ban.

“It’s like anything, if someone comes to me and says, ‘Ray, you drive a nice car, I’d like to offer you $1 million,’ it’s sold,” Farmer said.

“I don’t think Josh should be worried about it. He’s a talented player. The league recognizes his talent, we recognize his talent.”

Farmer toggles his time between evaluating pro and college talent. He spends his weekends on the road scouting college games and attending Browns games. He breaks down Browns tape on Monday mornings and writes reports on every player.

He enjoys working with Banner and Lombardi, executives who he says challenge him intellectually on a daily basis. He likens their meetings to “debate club,” where he must stake out positions and support his arguments.

“First and foremost, he’s an outstanding talent evaluator, which in my mind is the most important part of that job,” Banner said of Farmer. “He’s also a real high-character guy in terms of work ethic, personality and working well with other people. He fit in well with the group, another strong, independent voice which is what we’re trying to get.”

Farmer spends countless hours in the draft room perusing tape with Lombardi.

"I had heard the stories, heard the negativity, heard about the fans and other people who had positions on him," Farmer said. ". . . All I can say is he's quickly gone up my ladder as one of my favorite guys I've worked with. I have a lot of good friends in this business and he's working into one of my top spots.

“I know there are people in the league who question what he’s done. I can’t speak to any of that. Since I’ve been here he’s an A-plus.”

Circle of life

On Wednesday, Farmer’s office was bathed only by the natural light pouring from two small windows at the top of the walls. He prefers a darkened room and thinks it makes the film he studies on the big screen more crisp and vibrant.

His work days are often 15-plus hours. He operates best, Farmer said, on four hours sleep. His goal is to make it home by 7 p.m., to spend time with his wife, Vernet, and their two kids, Boyd and Kennedy.

“I’ve seen this business chew up families, guys get divorced and people lose relationships with their kids for all the wrong reasons,” he said. “I won’t let that happen.”

Farmer is now a parent making sure no ‘C’s’ come home on report cards. He’s the one entrusted with their well-being.

One of his scariest moments occurred Dec. 1, 2012 when he took Boyd to work with him on a Saturday morning in Kansas City. Farmer was attending Bible study as he received an alarming text message: “What’s going on? The building is surrounded by police.” He rushed to his office and instructed his son not to open the door unless he heard Farmer’s voice.

Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who had earlier murdered his girlfriend, the mother of his child, committed suicide in the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot in front of Crennel and Pioli.

“There is no road map, no handbook how to respond,” Farmer said. “Thank God for Scott Pioli, Romeo Crennel and the rest of the leadership group in Kansas City, because that was an awful, awful, awful day. I don’t know if our team ever recovered after that.”

Somehow, they rallied a shaken team to beat the Carolina Panthers, 27-21, the following day for one of their two victories last season.

“It brought a lot of things for me full circle,” Farmer said. “My parents were very intuitive and they stressed a lot of things . . . and one of them was every day is precious. After that day, it became that much more obvious.”

Farmer makes time for both teams in his life. He hasn’t been on the road this much since his days as a Falcons’ scout, but likes the path his career is taking.

It’s all about family and football and making them work. Farmer is not arriving at team headquarters at 4:30 each morning to see what framed photos make the room more symmetrical.

“I’m going to give (former Falcons coach) Jim Mora credit for this saying,” he said. “I’m going to work at a pace that others are unable or unwilling to match, and we’ll see what happens at the end.”