Browns hire Bengals offensive boss Jackson as coach

The Cleveland Browns’ latest regime change signals a drastic paradigm shift in the football operations department.

“I know what Hue Jackson can do, and I feel very comfortable and confident that I can get it turned”, Jackson said. Jackson has experience as a head coach, knows the AFC North and has fixed quarterb…

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.

All of this is encouraging until the Browns’ track record is added to the mix: Jackson will be the team’s sixth head coach since 2008.

Seated next to Hue Jackson, the man he hired several hours earlier, the Browns owner entertained a handful of questions without sounding defensive. Still without a general manager in place, DePodesta will seemingly have some level of influence over the players being brought in this offseason, possibly setting Jackson up for failure much in the same way Pettine had no chance of success. But the Bengals job was a good one for him as even a fall back option. He’s ready to clean it up. “I can’t worry about what’s happened before me”. Jackson also had interviewed with the 49ers and was scheduled to meet later this week with the Giants, but Haslam was not going to be outbid for a coach he coveted. Jackson has a big job ahead of him, but he’s clearly not afraid of the challenge.

Jackson has earned his second shot as a head coach, and with one respectable 8-8 season in Oakland on his resume, there is reason to believe that the former Raiders head coach should be able to turn around the Browns. That and the No. 2 pick to select a quarterback of the future had to be enticing.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do”, Jackson told them. “I know there’s a rabid fan base that is excited, Dawg Pound, let me give you a first pump because I’m excited and I want to jump over in that pound when I get the opportunity”, Jackson said during his introduction as head coach.

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. Neither becoming competitive enough to matter in their division although last season the Browns surprised a lot of people by staying in the hunt for their division until nearly the final month. “I don”™t know Johnny personally. I think our players will love playing for him.

Jackson has to quickly assemble a coaching staff, and as Haslam looks for a GM who will acquire talent, there will be other decisions.

“This is what I would say to that”.

I couldn’t see Dee Haslam, but I knew the employees’ greeting was her idea, and I was right.

As cold as the weather was outside of the Browns training facility in Berea – and it was frigid – the reception for Hue Jackson was just as warm on the inside. 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. To hear Jackson, it won’t matter who makes decisions as long as it’s about winning. The Browns have been stuck in a cycle of losing since their expansion rebirth.

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was a full participant in practice Wednesday, but coach Pete Carroll cautioned that was no indication whether he would play in the NFC divisional playoff game at Carolina on Sunday…. The Browns have endured 14 double-digit loss seasons and started 24 quarterbacks since returning to the league.

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.

“Hopefully, the third time’s the charm”, Haslam said, referring to his unsuccessful hires of Chudzinski and Pettine. “But, boy, when you have the support that I think we have here, those challenges become reality”.