In a written statement, Haslam said Jackson is, “relentless in trying to find ways to put his players in the best position to succeed”. And after seven interviews with seven different candidates – some of whom Jimmy Haslam said he expects to soon land head coaching jobs – it was clear Jackson stood out from the rest.
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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. Cleveland hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002 and will kick off the 2016 season with its seventh head coach since 2004 and its sixth general manager, who has yet to be hired. “He understands the AFC North, he’s been a part of the AFC North and I think he’s going to be a great head coach of the Cleveland Browns”.
Jackson previously served as offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Even after both sit-downs, Jackson was still planning on visiting with the New York Giants on Wednesday evening. Though he may fall under the technical definition of a retread hire, Jackson’s lone season of head coaching experience in Oakland in 2011 was weird enough to deserve its own category. Manziel’s recently ended his second season by missing a scheduled medical treatment amid reports he was spotted in Las Vegas.
Jimmy Haslam wanted Hue Jackson, and Hue Jackson wanted badly to become a head coach again the NFL. But I’m going to do whatever I think is right for this organization.
“He embodies all the qualities that will provide strong leadership for our football team”, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. Could backup quarterback A.J. McCarron be one of them?
Phillips, 40, went to prison in 2008 on a sentence of more than 31 years after he was convicted of twice choking his girlfriend in 2005 in San Diego and of driving his auto into three teens later that year after a pickup football game in Los Angeles.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t go back and first thank the people in Cincinnati – Mike Brown, Katie and Troy (Blackburn) and obviously Marvin (Lewis), who’s a real good friend of mine”, Jackson said.
The Cleveland Browns have the No. 2 overall pick in this years draft.
Within a few minutes of landing in Cleveland as the Browns’ new head coach, Jackson was inside his new office and greeted by a small sampling of the employees whom with he’ll share it. The rest were at FirstEnergy Stadium – Jackson’s office for eight Sundays in the fall – while the building undergoes significant renovations.
“I came here to win”, said Jackson, who says he’s comfortable with the team’s personnel department and new emphasis on analytics. Whether that is indeed true or not we will never know unless Jackson starts making some insane demands in Cleveland.
A lot has happened since Hue Jackson was sacked after just one 8-8 season at the helm for the Raiders.
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Jackson, 50, will certainly have an uphill battle as he takes over a team that is regarded as one of the worst in the NFL.
