How bad has it gotten for Johnny Manziel?
He’s now getting blamed for Texas A&M’s problems – more than two years after he left.
Former Aggies quarterback Kyle Allen told CBS Sports the problems with Texas A&M stem from a poisonous, unsupervised culture that has not changed from when Manziel was there, winning a Heisman Trophy while leading the SEC school to a 20-6 record and a pair of bowl victories.
“I think the culture was a big part of it, and I think that stems from Johnny’s era there — the way that they let Johnny and [others] act there,” Allen said. “They [could] do that and still win games because they had Johnny … and five offensive linemen playing in the NFL right now.
“A lot of people were riding off that, ‘I can do whatever the hell I want and win on Saturday.’ Everyone wasn’t in a straight line. Everyone was going this way, this way, this way. We had a ton of talent there. I think that, once you get all the right coaches there and get the vision right, you can do a lot of things.”
Allen’s comments seem to be an indictment of Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin, who brought Manziel and then Allen to College Station. Sumlin was a rising star when Manziel played for Texas A&M, constantly mentioned for higher-profile college jobs, but two 8-5 seasons and the departure of Allen and five-star freshman quarterback Kyle Murray have put him on the hot seat in 2016.
Allen, a former five-star recruit with two years of eligibility left, transferred to Houston in January after throwing for 2,210 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions this year. Allen led the Aggies to a 5-0 record and wins over Arizona State, Mississippi State and Arkansas, before losing his job to Murray, who transferred to Oklahoma. Texas A&M faltered over the second half of the season, finishing 8-5.
Manziel, a first-round pick of the Browns in the 2014 draft, has faced countless problems since leaving college. The latest is an alleged domestic violence case with ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, who says he threatened to kill her and himself. He also reportedly came to practice drunk late in the Browns’ season.
He is expected to be released by Cleveland in March.