Davone Bess -- He Needs Help, STAT ... Says Former Coach

Cleveland Browns WR Davone Bess was a "model citizen" before he allegedly attacked a cop at a Florida airport ... so says one of his old coaches who tells TMZ Sports he wants Davone to get help before it's too late.

We spoke to Richard Miano, who was the associate head coach at the University of Hawaii when Davone played for the Warriors.

Miano says he knows Bess has gone through some "very difficult times" off the field recently ... and acknowledges that with his recent arrest, it seems like Davone's life is "spiraling out of control."

But deep down, Miano says Bess is a good person -- "He'd come back to Hawaii every year and seemed like he was doing the right things, community service, things with children, it really seemed like he had transformed his life."

Bess had missed the last two games of the regular season citing personal issues ... and is currently under investigation by the Browns for tweeting pictures of a blunt and sack of weed.

But Miano says ... "Davone was somewhat of a model citizen at UH. There weren't any signs that he was a time bomb waiting to happen."

"He's just gotta get help."