Two years ago, Merrill Hoge predicted that the player formerly known as Johnny Football, Johnny Manziel, would be a bust and that the coaching staff who picked Manziel would be fired in two years. Lo and behold, the Cleveland Browns have fired that same coaching staff that drafted him. And yes, it was after his second season. What makes matters worse is Manziel is also gone, which makes Hoge look like a savant. Manziel’s career has floundered mostly due to his inconsistent play on the field and his partying, drinking and trouble-making habits off it.
Drew Rosenhaus, who is a superstar sports agent, has now terminated his contract with Manziel. Here’s the catch—he’s giving Manziel a five day window to get treatment.
Via ESPN
“I have terminated the standard representation with Johnny Manziel in the hopes of helping him get the treatment I believe he needs,” Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “I have informed him that if he takes the immediate steps I have outlined for him that I will rescind the termination and continue to represent him. Otherwise the termination will become permanent. There is a five-day window for me to rescind the termination. I’m hoping he takes the necessary steps to get his life back on track.”
With the world seemingly crashing down for Manziel, it would be of conventional wisdom that he tries to help himself as much as possible. You don’t find too many bosses who fire their employee and give them a five day window to get their job back.
“I wasn’t walking into an easy situation, but it has descended,” Rosenhaus told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday night. “It has consistently gotten worse. Quite honestly, one of things I talked to him about from Day 1 … was to get back to getting help, so that the reasons he was released by the Browns would be in the past and that he could move forward with his life as a positive member of society and take advantage of all the gifts that he has. … The world can be his. But obviously, in many respects he needs guidance right now, he needs help, and needs to gain control of his life again. And obviously, before he can even think about football, he’s got to do those things.
