Jackson has experience as a head coach, knows the AFC North and has fixed quarterbacks.
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Jackson becomes the Browns’ eighth coach since 1999 and sixth since 2008.
For Jackson, the Browns’ potential – with a redesigned front office, rabid fan base and resources to improve the roster – appealed to him most as he evaluated his future in the enviable position of a sought after coaching candidate. He’ll also be more predisposed to complement the head coach than Farmer was in delivering for Pettine. He replaces Mike Pettine, who was sacked on January 3 after going 10-22 in his two seasons.
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)Looks like Browns will get done deal with Hue Jackson before he gets on flight to NY for interview with the Giants, per sources.
It’s understandable that Jackson would feel that way; Manziel talked a good game for much of the season and did little to back it up.
“It’s not something you just learn and use for one year”, Dalton said. He’s ready to clean it up. “And boy, what a challenge”.
The foursome, with help from consultant Jed Hughes, ran a streamlined search that produced Jackson, offensive coordinator of the Bengals the last two years, after interviews with seven candidates in five days.
“We got the right guy for the Cleveland Browns”, said Haslam.
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. “I can’t worry about what’s happened before me”.
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.
Jackson was the one who got Dalton to feed off the rage he felt after more than half of Great American Ballpark booed him ahead of a celebrity softball game during last July’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Cincinnati.
Jackson sat between Haslam and Sashi Brown, the new head of football operations.
“This is our man”, Haslam told them.
In his only season as Raiders coach, Jackson went 8-8, but he was sacked anyway because general manager Reggie McKenzie didn’t want him.
“We shared a vision for the organization and what we want to accomplish”, said Jackson, who went 8-8 with the Raiders in 2011.
“Asked how well he knows this year”s quarterback class, Jackson said, “I”m going to know them pretty well, pretty soon.
The question now is which team would take a chance on Manziel given his off-field antics and poor play on the field? Manziel has been a major distraction during two drama-filled seasons with the Browns.
He needs to do the same with Cleveland’s coaching staff, which is expected to look dramatically different in 2016.
Jackson will be the Browns’ 12th full-time coach I’ve covered since I started in 1981 and I’ve never seen anything like it.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do”, Jackson told the employees working in the facility while it undergoes another renovation, the rest downtown at FirstEnergy Stadium. “I don’t know Johnny personally”.
Unfortunately for Jackson and Cincinnati, they could not break a postseason drought that dated back to 1990 as Cincinnati lost a bitter contest to heated rival Pittsburgh on Saturday.
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Maybe Jackson’s best coaching job was with McCarron, as the former Alabama quarterback played in the final four games of the season with three straight starts. The Bengals were among the league’s most exciting offenses with a solid balance and quick-strike capability.
