I’ve been through this before, but since the topic has surfaced again, I probably should address it.

 

Browns head coach Hue Jackson on Wednesday was peppered with questions from media members about the fact he doubles as offensive coordinator. It came up after the Browns were terrible offensively in their 24-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday. If the Browns don’t do better Sunday at Indianapolis against the struggling Colts, then they’ll drop to 0-3.

 

So the offense’s performance – or, as it were, the lack thereof — is a big deal as the Browns go forward. And the buck stops squarely at Hue’s desk since he holds both jobs.

 

I certainly understand the concern about Hue running an offense that didn’t run very well against the Ravens, but I have no problem at all with him doing that.

 

Jackson was hired to find a quarterback so the offense can get rolling. If he does that, then the Browns should start winning at some point sooner rather than later. If that happens, then Hue will keep his job. And if it doesn’t, then he won’t. It’s as simple as that.

 

As such, if Hue is going to be his professional well-being, then he’s going to do it his way by placing the offense in the best hands in the organization, which he knows are his. And he’s right.

 

Adding another bulky layer to the offense by having a coordinator – in name only, since it’s always going to be Hue’s scheme and play-calling — would only serve to further burden the process of getting the plays sent in on time so the Browns don’t get delay-of-game penalties or have to burn timeouts to avoid such. That process is already way too slow and dysfunctional.

 

Hue can afford to concentrate almost solely on the offense because of what’s going on, on the other side of the ball. Gregg Williams, one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators, has his guys playing well. Williams doesn’t need one bit of help from anyone on the coaching staff, including his boss, Jackson.

 

With all this, then, Jackson and the offense, at least in the way the system is set up, is solid. By far, it’s the best the Browns can do right now. In fact, there’s no excuse for Jackson failing to succeed here.

 

Even with saying that, however, there are, by virtue of the way the offense looked against Baltimore, still some problems, or least significant questions. That’s blatantly obvious.

 

The plan is to look at those issues in my next post. But it’s just the plan, and it could change depending on what news may, or may not, happen between now and then.

 

Stay tuned.