First, from NFL Media’s Michael Silver, who’s very close to the Browns’ new Head Coach… Haslam recently promoted team counsel Sashi Brown to vice president of football operations and pulled Paul DePodesta, a baseball analytics expert, away from the New York Mets to direct strategies for the team.
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According to multiple reports by national outlets, Jackson made it clear in those interviews that he would want to move on from Manziel if hired by the Browns. Having the No. 2 pick is great _ and sometimes it’s not. This could mean that he was merely acting as the front office’s messenger – plausible, given what we know about the relationship between the two coaches – but you also can’t help but wonder why a coach who could soon be departing would have the juice to essentially name is replacement if he’s not going to work for the team in some capacity when he’s finished losing playoff games coaching. “I don’t know him personally”. Jackson did acknowledge that Manziel came up in his discussions with Haslam. “I”ve been in a lot of different buildings, but I have never had an opportunity to sit down with two of the brightest minds in football in doing what they do.”. “So I can’t comment on those because I don’t know anything about those”.
After he walked into the team’s headquarters for the first time, Jackson was greeted by team employees, who applauded when he laid out his goals during an impromptu speech. “I have to give everyone on this team an opportunity to prove who they are”, Jackson said.
“We got the right guy for the Cleveland Browns”, Haslam said. A former college quarterback at Pacific, Jackson pushed Dalton to his best statistical season in 2015 and was known for his creative flair with unbalanced lines and unorthodox formations. The Bengals were among the league’s most exciting offenses with a solid balance and quick-strike capability.
Jackson’s challenge in Cleveland will be turning around a team that can’t seem to get out of its own way.
“We wanted the kid in the worst way”, Jackson told Sports Illustrated in 2013. “We’re going to chase greatness here, that’s for sure”. The AFC North, we want to win the division championship.
They are, of course, not winning the Super Bowl, so Marvin – much to the dismay of many – isn’t walking away. “That’s what it’s all about”. For now, that’s Jackson, who has spent 15 seasons coaching in the National Football League, establishing himself as one of the profession’s rising stars.
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If they’ve identified Hue Jackson as their next head coach, and if Marvin, Mike, or both have decided that 2016 will be the final season of the Lewis head coaching regime, then why not accelerate the process for the sake of keeping Hue?
