Harvey Ray Farmer (born July 1, 1974) is an American professional football executive and former player who is a senior personnel executive for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He is the former general manager of the Cleveland Browns, having served in that role from 2014 to 2015. Farmer has also previously served with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons in their scouting departments. He played in the NFL as a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles.
| Los Angeles Rams | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Scouting consultant | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | July 1, 1974 White Plains, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Robert B. Glenn (Kernersville, North Carolina) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Duke | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1996 / round: 4 / pick: 121 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| As an executive: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Playing career
editFarmer played free safety at Duke University from 1992 to 1996. He was all-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) twice, and as a senior, he led the team in tackles with 111 and played in two collegiate all-star games.[1][2] After graduation with a degree in sociology, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft,[3] and played three seasons at linebacker.[4] His career was ended by a knee injury.[5]
Executive career
editEarly career
editFrom 1998 to 2000, Farmer worked in TV and radio before being hired as an academic coordinator at Duke University.[1] he was the academic coordinator for football at Duke University in 2001.
Atlanta Falcons
editIn 2002, Farmer was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as a scout. He would serve in that position until 2005.
Kansas City Chiefs
editIn 2006, Farmer was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs to serve as their director of pro personnel.
Cleveland Browns
editIn 2013, Farmer was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their assistant general manager. In 2014, Farmer was promoted to general manager of the Browns, replacing Mike Lombardi.
In February 2015, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported that Farmer was under investigation for sending texts to coaching staff discussing play-calling during games, which violated the league's electronic device policy.[6] Farmer was eventually suspended in March 2015 for the first four games of the 2015 regular season without pay, and the team was fined $250,000.[7]
On January 3, 2016, after Cleveland's final game of the season, Farmer was fired.[8]
Los Angeles Rams
editIn 2020, Farmer was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as a scouting consultant. Following the 2020 NFL season, Farmer was promoted to senior personnel executive.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ray Farmer Accepts Scouting Position With Atlanta Falcons". Duke Sports Information. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
- ^ "Ray Farmer Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
- ^ "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ "Ray Farmer NFL Football Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
- ^ Reed, Tom. "Ray Farmer relishes opportunity to make a difference with the Cleveland Browns". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
- ^ Cabot, Mary Kay (February 4, 2015). "Cleveland Browns and GM Ray Farmer facing possible suspension, fine, loss of draft pick for 'Textgate'". cleveland.com. Northeast Ohio Media Group. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ "Browns GM suspended four games". ESPN.
- ^ "Cleveland Browns fire Mike Pettine, GM Ray Farmer". NFL.com. January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ "Ray Farmer". NFL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.