Hue Jackson hiring means Browns will part ways with Johnny Manziel

The former Bengals offensive coordinator is reportedly set to be hired by the Browns as their next head coach, and multiple reports are indicating that Jackson’s hiring will signal the end of Johnny Manziel’s time in Cleveland.

Last season, Jackson’s second as OC in Cincinnati, the Bengals had their best season in almost three decades and it would have been even better had Andy Dalton not been injured. Jackson follows in the footsteps of Mike Pettine, Rob Chudzinski, Pat Shurmur and Eric Mangini, who have all coached the Browns since 2010.

According to Cleveland.com, Jackson backed out of his scheduled interview with the New York Giants when Haslam called him Wednesday morning and offered him the job. Figured to be one of the hotter head coach candidates this offseason, the choice of Jackson to sign so quickly with the Cleveland Browns is something that we’ll all be scratching our heads at.

Roethlisberger also said the team has confidence in Jones, who came off the bench this season to lead Pittsburgh to victories over Arizona and Oakland.

Jackson replaced Jay Gruden as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator when Gruden left to become the head coach of the Washington Redskins after the 2013 season. A former college quarterback at Pacific, Jackson pushed Dalton to his best statistical season and was known for his creative flair with unbalanced lines and unorthodox formations.

The Browns also hold the No. 2 pick in this spring’s National Football League draft, where they could select top quarterback prospects Jared Goff (Cal) or Paxton Lynch (Memphis).

I hope for Cleveland Browns fans that Jackson really is the answer and owner Jimmy Haslam leaves well enough alone.

Jackson’s challenge in Cleveland will be turning around a team that can’t seem to get out of its own way.

However NFL Network reported that Jackson has already chose to move on from Manziel, a first-round pick in 2014 who showed significant improvement on the field during the 2015 season.

Another factor that has to intrigue the Browns faithful is the savvy staff that Jackson figures to lure to Cleveland. As a quarterbacks coach with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and 2009, Jackson helped mold Joe Flacco into a quality starter. Although he has yet to win a post-season game, his total of seven post-season appearances matches the seven play-off berths the Bengals reached in their history before he arrived in 2003.

The Browns are finalizing a deal with Hue Jackson.

Jackson was supposed to be on a plane to New Jersey tonight to talk to the Giants, but Haslam nipped New York’s plan in the bud. The league’s waiver system begins February 8, the day after the Super Bowl.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do”, Jackson told the gathering of secretaries, sales representatives and others.