Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine is apparently not Johnny Manziel’s biggest fan.
According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, Pettine was “ready to move on” from the Heisman winner when he went into rehab earlier this winter:
“It was Pettine who was ready to move on from Manziel when he entered rehab, one league source told Yahoo Sports. Another league source said that three others – Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Ray Farmer and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo – still believe Manziel can be salvaged. At the very least, DeFilippo has made several positive public comments about Manziel since he returned to the team a little over two weeks ago.”
Based on Pettine’s declaration that veteran Josh McCown would likely be the starter “for the foreseeable future,” we shouldn’t be surprised at this report.
McCown is a tenured quarterback who understands what it takes to succeed and has proven his worth during his 12-year career. Not only do you need to be skilled on the field, but you must be equally skilled in the classroom, which is the area in which Manziel struggled during his rookie campaign.
While the reports coming out of Cleveland since Manziel returned from a two-month-plus stay in rehab have all been glowingly positive, it appears Pettine still has his doubts. From Manziel’s perspective, he is lucky to have some support still within the organization after his hijinks last year.
Pettine has made comments about Manziel this winter that show he’s not completely closed off to the young man, however. After visiting him in rehab, the head coach had positive things to say, per the team’s website:
“He’s in a much better place now than before he went in. He’s very determined to come out of it in a much better way.”
Based on Robinson’s report, however, it’s clear Manziel is going to be on an extremely short leash under Pettine this year. Until he proves that his raucous past is behind him, Johnny Football is going to continue dwelling in the dog house.