New offensive coordinator John DeFilippo expressed skepticism Thursday that Johnny Manziel is the answer to the Cleveland Browns' decades-long quarterback problem.
The questions about Manziel's future go much higher than the coaching staff.
Owner Jimmy Haslam, who was reported to have the gridiron-version of a "love affair" with Manziel last May, no longer carries a torch for his 2014 first-round draft pick.
"We've got to get a quarterback and got to get it fixed," Haslam said Thursday night, via the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. "What I would say to our fans is, we're going to continue to work really hard to find that quarterback who can make us a championship team."
Haslam isn't ruling out Manziel as the 2015 starter, but emphasized that "every option is on the table" including undrafted Week 17 starter Connor Shaw and impending free agent Brian Hoyer.
The Browns owe it to themselves to leave no stone unturned after Manziel's rocky rookie season -- on and off the field.
"Johnny has to show on and off the field he can be a professional," Haslam continued. "He knows that. Everybody in the organization has told him that. It'll be up to Flip and (coach Mike Pettine) to decide whether he can be the kind of quarterback we need him to be. He knows what we expect of him on and off the field, and it's up to him to prove he can do that."
The Browns' brass might be willing to overlook Manziel's extracurricular activities had his limited game film provided any indication that he could emerge as the face of the franchise.
Instead, he fell on his face in four preseason games and two regular-season starts, leaving more doubts than any of the first-year quarterbacks.
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