Is Johnny Manziel’s time in Cleveland at an end?

The Cleveland Browns have hired Hue Jackson as head coach and his first act may be to jettison Johnny Manziel.

The news that the Cleveland Browns are hiring Hue Jackson as the team’s 16th full-time head coach came with a not-so-surprising addendum.

Jackson has a tall task in front of him as he tries to the Browns back into a viable, winning franchise, something that Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski and Mike Pettine all failed to do. (Or where not given the opportunity to do.)

There is sure to be additional change coming to the Browns now that Jackson is in charge, and he made it clear that there is one particular change that must be made.

Jackson wants no part of quarterback Johnny Manziel.

ESPN’s Pat McManamon and Dan Graziano took things a step further, writing that:

"According to a source close to the situation, the topic of Manziel was discussed at length in meetings between Jackson and Browns ownership. In those discussions, Jackson indicated that he would prefer the organization move on from Manziel if he were to become coach, and he was told that would not be a problem."

Gregg Rosenthal from NFL.com also chimed in:

"Johnny Manziel helped take down the Cleveland Browns’ last head coach. Hue Jackson does not want to risk that happening again."

"The hiring of Jackson in Cleveland will trigger the end of Johnny Manziel’s time with the team, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday, per a source informed of Jackson’s thinking."

"This is not a surprise. Manziel’s rocky two years with the team, ending with his mysterious no-showfollowing a Week 16 concussion, already appeared to spell his end with the organization. Jackson’s arrival should only expedite Manziel’s departure."

If those reports are true, it takes what is already looking like a positive hire and makes it even smarter.

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During the past two years with the Cincinnati Bengals Jackson was obviously privy to the scouting reports on Manziel, which most likely showed that he is not an NFL starting quarterback.

Then there are Manziel’s actions, which clearly show that he wants to be a celebrity more than an NFL starting quarterback.

Finally, as long as Manziel is on the roster there is going to be a segment of the fan base that constantly raises its voice about how Manziel just “deserves a chance” and everything will be just fine.

It sounds like Jackson realizes that he and the Browns simply don’t need to be bothered with any of that – especially with the rebuilding process ahead of them. His time would be better spent, for example, selling players like Joe Thomas, Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz that Cleveland is the place to be.

The Browns can’t do anything with Manziel until after the Super Bowl, per league rules, but that doesn’t mean they can’t start working on seeing if there is a market for him.

Jerry Jones reportedly still has an interest in Manziel in Dallas, former Browns’ quarterback coach Dowell Loggains (of the infamous “wreck this league” text) is now the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, and Houston Texans’ owner Bob McNair has gone on the record as saying the team needs a new quarterback.

He may not bring much in return, but there may be a trade market out there for Manziel.

The Browns are making a clean start with a new front office and a new head coach.

Moving on from Manziel would be another sign that the team is serious about cleaning up the mess.