Hue Jackson will be hired as Cleveland Browns’ next head coach

He’s too busy finding a new coach.

Jackson will be the Browns’ fourth head coach since the start of the 2009 season.

The 49ers were thought to have Jackson high on their list of candidates, and they interviewed the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator on Sunday, following the Bengals’ wild-card playoff loss Saturday night to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns have not yet offered their job to the 50-year-old Jackson, who has also interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers and could draw interest from other teams.

Hue Jackson knows what he’s getting into. But Jackson is a well-regarded coach around the league, and the Browns can be glad that they got their man.

He returns to head coaching after being given exactly one year in Oakland back in 2011. He was sacked amid an ownership change and joined Marvin Lewis’ staff in Cincinnati as a defensive assistant. He was the Bengals’ wide receivers coach from 2004 to 2006 and also spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.

Jackson spent the past two seasons overseeing Cincinnati’s offense.

“It would be another hurt to our season to lose him, but the reality is he’s an exceptional coach”, Whitworth said.

On Jan. 3, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam fired head coach Mike Pettine after he went 10-22 in two seasons.

Jackson, the Bengals’ offensive coordinator and perhaps the most sought-after coaching candidate still available, is expected to fly into East Rutherford on Wednesday evening for the Thursday interview with Giants co-owner John Mara and GM Jerry Reese.