Other than it should be a close, hard-fought battle between two of Cleveland’s rivals in the AFC North who really, truly don’t like each other, there’s another reason for Browns fans to watch tonight’s AFC wild-card round playoff game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium.

It’s that one of the coaching candidates for the Browns’ head-coaching position will be putting his talents on display. That’s Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who will interview with the Browns on Sunday in Cincinnati..

Jackson, who previously was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011, is in his second season of directing a high-powered Bengals attack that has plenty of weapons but will once again be without its injured starting quarterback in Andy Dalton. In his place will be second-year pro AJ McCarron.

We’ve talked here about the Browns, who struggled to score points this year, needing an offensively-minded coach because of the importance of offense and quarterback play in today’s NFL, so Jackson certainly fits that mold. We’ll see if he can coach up McCarron and help the division champion Bengals win. If Jackson can do just that and the Bengals advance, then his standing in the eyes of Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam will certainly be enhanced.

Adding to the intrigue of the matchup is the fact McCarron was pressed into action for the first time when Dalton got hurt against Pittsburgh several weeks ago, so he will have the advantage of looking at that defense for the second time. Will he improve upon that effort after having a full week to get ready this time? We’ll see. It will depend to a great extent on how well Jackson can prepare him, and then help him to make adjustments as the game goes along.

 

Jackson is an interesting candidate in other regards. In having been a head coach before, he would approach the Cleveland job mindful of the mistakes he made the first time and the things he needs to do to correct them. The last three men to guide the Browns had never been head coaches before at any level, let alone just in the NFL. There is a real interest by many to see Haslam bring in somebody with experience in that regard.

Plus Jackson obviously knows the division, he knows the Browns and he knows the kind of offense that must be run to win with the weather challenges the AFC North brings.

So sit back, relax and enjoy Jackson’s job performance and tonight’s game. You may just be watching the Browns’ next head coach. Put yourself into Haslam’s shoes and see if you would be interested in hiring Jackson.