Johnny Manziel wants Browns to Retain Personnel for 2016

Not unlike expecting a dog to walk on its hind legs or train a cat to go to the bathroom like a human, Johnny Manziel is asking the Cleveland Browns to do the most un-Browns thing ever. After the team’s 30-13 loss in Seattle, Manziel called for owner Jimmy Haslam to retain the current coaching staff and playing roster in 2016 for the sake of continuity.

You might be forgiven for thinking the c-word isn’t even in Cleveland’s vocabulary. A complete and utter lack of stability at quarterback, head coach and beyond since re-entering the league in 1999 has contributed heavily towards making the Browns the most dysfunctional franchise in professional sport. But with the team hoping desperately to have found its main man in Manziel, the polarising quarterback has made it very clear that he can’t do it all on his own.

“I don’t know if I can really picture that [kind of stability] moving forward. We’ll see what happens. I don’t think anybody really knows,” Manziel told reporters post-game. “I want these guys to be here next year. I want to have…the people on this roster…so we can go through the spring and not have to learn what this call is and this play. It definitely would be a luxury for sure.”

To call something so simple and so expected a “luxury” is a good indication of the Browns’ mindset. For too long, Cleveland has looked for quick fixes in free agency and the draft, with little regard for how the team cope with whatever temporary coaching scheme has been thrown together over the offseason.

“The Seahawks have been doing this for a while at a really high level,” Manziel continued, in reference to Seattle’s commitment to Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll. The once-embattled franchise’s patience has paid huge dividends, with Wilson seemingly about to enter his prime and Carroll’s reputation as one of the league’s most desirable coaches.

Manziel himself isn’t even secured of a spot on the roster – let alone the starting quarterback role – for next season. But in a draft devoid of top-tier talent in which Cleveland will hold a tantalisingly high pick, the Browns brass must resist the temptation to again go full Browns and instead find a way to build a respectable unit from the ground up. For now, at least, the quarterback is not the problem.