Johnny Manziel Comments on Mike Pettine, 2016 Browns Roster

Johnny Manziel’s relationship with Mike Pettine has been rocky to say the least, but the Cleveland Browns quarterback insists he wants his current head coach to return in 2016 despite what’s been a tumultuous season.    

Manziel denounced Pettine’s decision to bench him after video surfaced of the second-year quarterback partying during the bye week in the latest chapter of a well-chronicled saga of off-field incidents. 

But despite disagreement, Manziel said he respects Pettine and hopes the second-year head coach returns next season, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

"

Absolutely (I respect him). He's our head coach. I have a ton of respect for him and like I said earlier in the year when everything happened, whether I liked the situation or not and liked the outcome of what happened, I had a part in that too and I had to take responsibility and own up to that. It was on nobody else but me.   

"

Manziel earned the starting job midseason because of attrition up the depth chart and played well enough to hold it even after Josh McCown returned from a concussion. 

But he lost the gig solely because of off-field antics involving alcohol just seven months removed from spending 10 weeks in rehab, though Pettine was forced to return the reins to him after McCown suffered further injuries and Austin Davis failed to impress. 

The head coach indicated he’s been pleased with Manziel’s attitude since the bye-week incident and that he shares a mutual sentiment toward the second-year quarterback, per Pat McManamon of ESPN.com:

"

If you just eliminate that incident where I felt like I was doing my job and doing what was best for the team and doing what was best for him—hopefully, he respects that. But I also know from an interaction standpoint, that when he is here, I have a ton of respect for him because of what he has gone through personally and how he has earned the respect of the guys around him. We all know what he did, but at the same time the players, when you hear other players come out and support him, it is because they see it.

"

Despite a speculated rift with Pettine and the Browns currently at 3-11 and out of the playoffs for the 13th straight year, Manziel hopes the entire staff returns in 2016.

"I want these guys to be here next year," Manziel told the media after Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks. "I want to have these receivers and the people that we have on this roster on the staff, so we can go through the spring and not have to learn what this call is and this play and be able to go through a spring and have some of the continuity.''

The 23-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner has been widely viewed as a polarizing figure dating back to his college tenure at Texas A&M, and he didn’t help his case after struggling in his first NFL season in 2014.   

Separately from the partying hoopla, the NFL launched an investigation into an incident involving Manziel in which he was pulled over because of a domestic altercation on the highway with his girlfriend—one that nearly prompted him to go on paid leave until the investigation concluded.

Manziel admitted he had been drinking earlier that night, and his girlfriend claimed he was physical with her. But no charges were filed.

The Browns had high hopes he could develop into a franchise quarterback, selecting him with a first-round pick, and they largely showed support through his waves of off-field distractions. 

But the future of Pettine and Manziel—strictly from a performance standpoint—remains in question. 

Regardless of what the two may feel about each other, owner Jimmy Haslam will ultimately discern whether stability and development are necessary to get this team back to the playoffs or if it’s simply time to move on.