The Browns have not won a game since October 11th, meaning they dropped seven straight games to end the season. That was not the end of Cleveland’s end season woes, however. The saga of Billy Manziel and his adventures in Las Vegas the night before a game have dominated sports news for the last month. Then, the team lost their last game of the season 37-3. Now, news has broken that head coach Mike Pettine has been fired, coming off a 2015 season where the team reached a dismal record of 3-13. As anyone who follows Cleveland sports knows, the Browns’ recent struggles are nothing new.

Since 2008, the Browns have a combined record of 37-91. They have started eight different quarterbacks, all of which left the team with losing records overall. In that same span of time, the Browns have had five separate coaches, all of which ended their tenure with the Browns with a winning percentage below a .400 according to Profootballtalk’s website. Now, the team must decide if they wish to stick with their talented but issue-laden quarterback in Johnny Manziel, or start fresh (again) and hope that their new selection, whoever it may be, finally turns the team around. If the team elects to stick with Manziel, they face the enormous challenge of transforming him from the Billy Manziel nightmare to a realistic face of the franchise.

Manziel has shown flashes of enormous talent, exhibiting mobility in the pocket and great field awareness. However, he has also shown gross immaturity and an apparent disregard for the team in general. Last summer, he was checked into rehab in an effort to reverse certain personal issues, but less than a year later, he lost the starting job after week 14 due to the same personal issues. Most recently, before the regular season finale against the Bengals, the tragic saga of Billy Manziel was revealed to the public. For those who have not heard, Johnny Manziel was caught partying in a Vegas casino, using the alias “Billy” and wearing a blonde wig according to Cleveland.com. Under normal circumstances, this report would be cause for major concern. This fiasco took place the night before the team’s last game of the season, however. Yes, it is true that Manziel was not going to play the next day. The problem is, the franchise quarterback of a struggling team should be with his teammates for their last game, whether he is playing or not. A leader, or even a mere adult who values his job would never have considered abandoning his teammates in the manner in which Manziel did.

Despite all these problems, Manziel is fundamentally a very talented quarterback. His total quarterback rating (QBR) for week one was actually above that of the likes of Drew Brees and Russell Wilson (espn.com), and he showed remarkable chemistry with offensive weapons Travis Benjamin and Gary Barnidge. So, there is hope for Manziel should he remain in Cleveland. The question Browns management will need to ask is whether or not his brief examples of greatness are enough to bypass his numerous and well-documented shortcomings. Should management decide to give Manziel another shot in the 2016 season, I sincerely hope he grows into a leader of the team and hopefully a new face of the franchise. No one likes a bust, and the Browns did spend a first round draft pick on the guy. Hopefully, for real this time, next season will finally be the Browns season to turn it around.