Harvey Ray Farmer (born July 1, 1974) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...
executive and former
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...
who is a scouting consultant for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL). He is the former
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...
of the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, having served in that role from 2014 to 2015. Farmer has also previously served with the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
and
Atlanta Falcons in their scouting departments.
Playing career
Farmer 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.
After graduation with a degree in sociology, he was drafted by the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
in the fourth round of the 1996 draft, and played three seasons at
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...
. His career was ended by a knee injury.
Executive career
Early career
From 1998 to 2000, Farmer worked in TV and radio before being hired as an academic coordinator at
Duke University.
[
he was the academic coordinator for football at Duke University in 2001.
]
Atlanta Falcons
In 2002, Farmer was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as a scout. He would serve in that position until 2005.
Kansas City Chiefs
In 2006, Farmer was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
to serve as their director of pro personnel.
Cleveland Browns
In 2013, Farmer was hired by the Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
as their assistant general manager. In 2014, Farmer was promoted to general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...
of the Browns, replacing Mike Lombardi.
In February 2015, the Northeast Ohio Media Group
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
reported that Farmer was under investigation for sending texts
Text may refer to:
Written word
* Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including:
**Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred
**Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...
to coaching staff discussing play-calling during games, which violated the league's electronic device policy. 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.
On January 3, 2016, after Cleveland's final game of the season, Farmer was fired.
Los Angeles Rams
In 2020, Farmer was hired by the Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
as a scouting consultant.
References
1974 births
Living people
American football linebackers
American football safeties
Cleveland Browns executives
Duke Blue Devils football players
Kansas City Chiefs executives
Philadelphia Eagles players
People from White Plains, New York
Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York
Players of American football from New York (state)
{{linebacker-1970s-stub
Atlanta Falcons scouts
Los Angeles Rams scouts