Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine. Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine said he had all the right information on Johnny Manziel one year ago when the franchise was making its evaluation of the Texas A&M quarterback.
“Obviously we felt very comfortable with his background, comfortable enough to draft him,” Pettine said at the Scouting Combine inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday.
Pettine, who made a sideways jab at drafting only players “on the National Honor Society and school choir,” said the franchise will not make a kneejerk reaction to shy away from all players who have any kind of red flag during the 2015 draft process.
Pettine visited Manziel in rehab last week. He said Manziel, who entered a treatment facility in January, did not talk to Pettine before the decision was made. Pettine said he doesn’t have a firm idea of when Manziel will be back, but he came away from the visit feeling as if the 21-year-old is making personal progress.
“He’s in a much better place now than before he went in,” Pettine said. “He’s very determined to come out of it in a much better way.
“I’ll keep the details of that private. I just wanted to go visit him and see how he’s doing, let him know we’re proud of him for the decision he made to go in. He has our full support.”
Pettine would not play the hindsight game and said the Browns coached Manziel to the best of the team’s ability. He said he was fully unaware Manziel had an issue that needed this level of attention.
As for the potential of Manziel becoming a starter for the Browns — who are still open to re-signing starter Brian Hoyer in unrestricted free agency — Pettine said he could not offer a fair evaluation at this time.
Pettine said he met with Hoyer after the season to tell him the “door has not closed” and the team is open to having him back.
“I’d be a lot more concerned if we had a game this Sunday,” Pettine said. “We’re going to weigh all of our options here. We’re going to weigh all of our options in free agency. I did have a good meeting with Brian. He and I have always been very open, very honest with each other. That meeting was no different.”
