Kyle Shanahan: Johnny Manziel is 'a great guy'

Gabrielle McMillen

Kyle Shanahan: Johnny Manziel is 'a great guy' image

Kyle Shanahan is staying tight lipped on the details surrounding his departure from the Browns. However, recent positive remarks about Johnny Manziel indicates the troubled quarterback was not the deciding factor in Shanahan's decision to leave Cleveland.

"Johnny's a great guy and I think he does get a little bit of a bad rep with that, because Johnny worked very hard for me," Shanahan said to ESPN.com . "I really enjoyed coaching him."

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Manziel, who is more known for his party antics than his skill in the NFL, recently entered rehab

"I don't know what he's going through right now, but I think I'm confident Johnny will work it all out," Shanahan said. "And I think he has a chance to have a good future."

Shanahan recently joined the Falcons staff as offensive coordinator. He requested to be released from his contract with the Browns with one year left.

Tensions between the front office and coaching staff reportedly led to Shanahan calling it quits with Cleveland, though he has refused to acknowledge the reports. Those tensions became apparent after the NFL began investigating a report that general manager Ray Farmer sent texts from the press box to the sidelines during a game.

Shanahan was also reportedly displeased with Manziel moving up to the starting position late in the season, factoring into his decision to leave the Browns.

"You make some tough decisions, and Cleveland obviously was a tough decision for me," Shanahan said. "Nobody likes to be in the media. I'd rather just hide in the hole and never have to do this, ever. But it's part of the business and I understand that. But you can't make decisions just based off of that. You've got to make decisions of what you think is best for you, what's best for your family. If you believe it's right, then you live with it. And you live with the consequences and you hope tough decisions end up working out.

"The fact that it's led me to Atlanta and I'm in this situation right now, I couldn't be any happier."

Gabrielle McMillen