XFL Exec Shades Johnny Manziel While Describing Why He Wouldn’t Sign The QB To His Franchise

XFL executive explains reason why he wouldn't sign Johnny Manziel

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Johnny Manziel’s football future is up in the air at the moment. With no NFL teams calling, the former Heisman Trophy winner is forced to wait and see if there’s another league out there who might be interested in signing the polarizing athlete. He’s already tried the CFL — which didn’t end well. He was part of the AAF — which lasted a couple games. And now, the one league that Manziel seems perfect for, the XFL, might not want anything to do with him either.

While that might not be true for every XFL team, one executive — Daryl Johnston, the Dallas Renegades’ director of player personnel — specifically gave a pretty in-depth reason as to why he wouldn’t sign Johnny Manziel to his team. Just take a look at the criticism Johnston gave “Johnny Football” while talking to the Dallas Morning News:

“I passed on him in San Antonio and I’d pass on him again here,” said Daryl Johnston, former Cowboys fullback and Renegades director of player personnel who had the opportunity to sign Manziel to the San Antonio franchise in the short-lived Alliance of American Football a few months ago.

“For me the chemistry in the locker room is critical, and especially the quarterback position. He kind of sets the tone, especially for the offensive side of the ball, but really for the whole team. There is so much added responsibility that goes with the face, goes with the voice of the franchise. And I haven’t seen that from Johnny on a consistent basis that I would feel comfortable committing to him.”

Yikes. That’s basically the equivalent of Daryl Johnston telling Johnny Manziel that he’s too immature and/or lacks the leadership abilities to be a starting quarterback in a pro league. Well, at least that’s how I took it.

Obviously, not everyone feels the same way about Johnny Manziel. Remember, Houston Roughnecks head coach June Jones — who coached Manziel in the CFL — gushed about the possibility of reuniting with the quarterback. The sentiment seems mutual between the two, because Manziel offered up reasons why he’d love to play for the Roughnecks, per a Houston Chronicle article.

“It’s a stone’s throw from College Station,” Manziel said on Saturday. “A lot of Aggies drove from Houston to College Station. Houston’s a great city that’ll always be near and dear to me.”

“I enjoyed every single day I had with coach Jones,” Manziel said. “Being in his offense was the best part of each day. I know he’s going to be successful wherever he’s coaching.”

Being so close to where Johnny Manziel played college football and became a legend might not be the greatest idea, but, hey, maybe the dude thrives off that kind of attention and it will help him feel a little bit more wanted by people. Who the hell knows? Either way, the guy has to be looking for a way to stop doing insurance commercials and return to playing football. Guess only time will tell what happens.

(H/T FTW.USAToday)

Nick Dimengo avatar
Nick's a Sr. Editor for BroBible, mainly relying on his Sports Encyclopedia-like mind to write about things. He's also the co-host of the BroBible podcast "We Run This," and can be seen sweating his ass off while frequently running 10+ miles around Seattle.