The Browns announced on Wednesday that they have hired former Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as head coach.
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Jackson has had a perch with an AFC North rival from which to view the quarterback’s two-year career, and apparently he’s not a fan of what he saw. He replaces Mike Pettine, who was sacked on January 3 after going 10-22 over two seasons.
Hue Jackson’s only head coaching job came in 2011 with the Oakland Raiders.
Jackson was hired by the Bengals, who seemed to simply find somewhere he could hold a job on the staff. That position was assistant secondary coach and special teams coordinator. According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the Browns will “look hard” at taking a quarterback in the NFL Draft if they like who’s available with their on the clock with the second overall pick. Neither becoming competitive enough to matter in their division although last season the Browns surprised a lot of people by staying in the hunt for their division until nearly the final month. Jackson said he was reassured that the organization has no problem moving on from Manziel.
NFL Network’s Michael Silver, a close friend of Jackson, reported the Bengals tried to keep him with a plan for him to succeed Marvin Lewis. “The coaching staff that I worked with for so many wonderful years”.
As they reboot again, the Browns are hoping Jackson’s experience in Oakland – another franchise with its share of dysfunction – and his work with QBs will help them get back to relevancy quickly.
Jackson is accustomed to working with accomplished pocket passers, including Carson Palmer, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton.
The Giants were also interested in Jackson, but as previously mentioned, Haslam convinced Jackson to skip his interview on Wednesday and sign a contract with the Browns.
In two games against the Bengals, Jackson’s former club, Manziel completed 49.0% of his passes for one touchdown and two picks, with a 53.4 rating.
While it’s clear that Haslam was able to thwart Jackson’s initial itinerary that involved a trip to NY, the details of his deal with the coach remain rather mysterious. Cleveland hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2002, and the franchise has endured 14 double-digit loss seasons since returning to the league in ’99.
In reality, and to purposely contradict myself, it’s all moot and really doesn’t mean anything more than an opportunity to bring attention to the fact that the Dolphins opted to go with their top choice and not interview Jackson first.
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“I need to get in this building and have an opportunity to sit down and watch tape”. The league’s waiver system begins February 8, the day after the Super Bowl.
