New Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson is ready to "take a stand." What he meant when he uttered the words Wednesday during media availability at the NFL rookie scouting combine, is that behavior like that exhibited by one-time Browns franchise signal-caller Johnny Manziel over the last two NFL seasons, will not be tolerated during Jackson's tenure.
"That behavior will not be tolerated as we move forward," Jackson said, per PFT. "Our organization is going to take a stand."
In essence, Jackson wanted to make clear that Manziel's erratic and highly questionable behavior won't be allowed or accepted going forward and that Jackson and the rest of the new-look Browns are very much preparing for LAJ (Life After Johnny), an eventuality those in and around the NFL have prepared for since Sashi Brown released a statement earlier this month condemning Manziel's continuous off-field transgressions.
But here's the thing - that's easy for Jackson to say. He was lucky enough not to be the head coach when 'Money' Manziel entered the NFL, so Jackson wasn't forced to spend two years trying to reach and/or corral a franchise quarterback who came in as a high draft pick, forced onto him by a clueless team owner. By nearly all accounts, Jimmy Haslam has, during his four-year reign, created a kind of "toxic" or at least slightly radioactive culture in Cleveland that Jackson and Brown and Paul DePodesta now have the honor of trying to undo.
That will start with Manziel's ousting.
But does Jackson, or really any NFL coach, mean it when they say they won't tolerate such behavior? Manziel was playing much better in 2015 before the videos and the roadside fights with his girlfriend, so it's not necessarily fair to say that if he were a more talented or high-profile player (are there more high-profile NFL players?) he wouldn't be getting the boot. But Manziel also isn't an established NFL winner. Sure, he had some good games in 2015 and looked to finally be rounding into form, but he is and was an OK player on a bad team.
Cutting him, especially after all the other issues, won't incense much of the Browns fanbase at this point.
But what about a guy like Josh Gordon, the extremely talented but idiocy-prone Browns pass catcher who took the league by storm and then smoked away his golden NFL ticket and the entire 2015 season? Will Jackson welcome him back with open arms? When asked about Gordon's status on Wednesday, Jackson said only that he hadn't gotten an update from the league, no mention of stands being taken or feet being put down.
And what of the team from which Jackson just emigrated, the Cincinnati Bengals? Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict isn't exactly the poster child for intelligent, well-behaved NFL players. And cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones' sordid past is well known. And yet both players remain on and important contributors to an NFL roster, despite their off-field troubles.
Jackson has seen first-hand what talent, whether it comes with a good or bad mental makeup, can do. And he and the rest of the league also watched as a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, led by a monomaniacal Chip Kelly, struggled to score points and win games after Kelly ousted talented, but willful players like LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Evan Mathis.
Talent trumps all else, especially in an NFL where the line between a playoff team and team that spends their winter golfing in Florida is razor-thin.
So, no, Jackson will not be "taking a stand," folks. He'll just be doing what every other NFL coach that's come before him has done - cherry-picking which players to bring the hammer down on and which to treat with kid gloves, because sometimes examples need to be made and sometimes star players need to be protected.
It's just the business of the NFL. And as long as business is good, talent will trump character.
