SEATTLE, Wash. -- After the Browns' 30-13 loss to the Seahawks, quarterback Johnny Manziel cast his vote for Jimmy Haslam to retain the current coaching staff and to keep the roster intact for continuity.

The plea was made during an answer about how Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, in his fourth season under Pete Carroll, is peaking and playing the best ball of his career. Wilson, who threw three touchdown passes against the Browns, has been on fire the past five games, completing 74.5 percent of his passes for 1,420 yards with 19 touchdowns and no interceptions.

He also became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least three touchdowns and no interceptions in five straight games.

Asked if he could envision the same kind of success with some continuity in the system, Manziel -- who's already on his second offensive coordinator in two years -- admitted that he doesn't know what's coming after the season. The Browns dropped to 3-11 and jobs are on the line.

"The (Seahawks) have been doing this for awhile at a really high level,'' Manziel aid after the game. "I think this is the best that he's played probably throughout his career, so I don't know if I can really picture that (kind of stability) moving forward. We'll see what happens. I don't think anybody really knows.

"I want these guys to be here next year. I want to have these receivers and the people that we have on this roster on the staff, so we can go through the spring and not have to learn what this call is and this play and be able to go through a spring and have some of the continuity.....So it definitely would be a luxury for sure.''

Of course, Manziel isn't even sure he'll be around. The Browns currently have the second overall pick in the draft and must decide if they need to select a quarterback. Manziel took another step forward in the loss to the Seahawks -- taking it to the No. 2 defense in the NFL on his opening 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive -- but also has off-the-field issues that must be factored in.

Last week, when Pettine was asked about the possibility of Manziel and Josh Gordon being reunited next season, he said, "that would turn out to be a positive thing if Josh is with us next year and Johnny's on the roster, that those two have built a rapport together.''

Asked to clarify his remark about the uncertainty of both, Pettine said, "Again, that's just hypothetical, trying to project it to next year. Those are all questions that will get answered sooner than later. My sole focus is this weekend (on the Seahawks)."

But Manziel's endorsement of Pettine is significant considering that Pettine demoted him from starting quarterback to third string after Manziel lied to him about his bye week partying.

Manziel didn't necessarily agree with the move, but acknowledged that he learned from it, and has also gotten better this year under Pettine, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell.

Manziel is the second key player in the past 10 days to urge Jimmy Haslam not to fire Mike Pettine, who's lost 16 of his last 19 games. The first was 10th-year pro and Cleveland native Donte Whitner, who's tired of all the upheaval.



"Yeah I would like to see that happen but the call is not up to me,'' Whitner said. "You always understand that second, third year in the system some things can change, something can click. Maybe the players won't make the same mistakes or the same mental errors when we step out there being the third year in the system so we'll see."

He believes that overhauling the staff and scheme is not the answer.

"Yeah a whole new one and then you got all types of other big plays happening so I would say stick with it, but who am I?'' he said. "I don't know anything."

Whitner said he has "total faith'' in the coaching staff.

"Every time we've taken the football field we've been prepared,'' he said. " I can be the first to tell you that. We've known what the opposition was going to do to us. We've known where they want to go with the football. Now it's hard for us as players being prepared to get out there and not know what's going on. Because we study so much.

"Sometimes it's just like we have mental lapses out there. I really do like this coaching staff. They're really, really a hard-working coaching staff. They're young but they're hungry to win. I think just players, we've let them down a little this year.''

Later Monday, left tackle Joe Thomas and tight end Gary Barnidge also came out in strong support of the coaching staff.

But regardless of what the players want, they know it won't get any easier the final two games -- against 9-5 teams. The Browns travel on Sunday to Kansas City to face the Chiefs, who have won eight straight. They close out the season at home against the Steelers, who have won three straight and knocked off the Broncos on Sunday.

And as everyone knows, that season finale against the Steelers has not been kind to Browns coaches. The last four have all been fired after season-ending loss to Pittsburgh: Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur and Rob Chudzinski.