What’s going to happen to Hue Jackson from here on out?
He’s going to remain as head coach of the Browns, right?
Perhaps.
And perhaps not.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam reiterated Sunday following the 28-24 season-ending that Jackson was staying.
Or did he?
He said the Browns were happy to have Jackson as coach.
But he didn’t say it with much gusto, and he didn’t go to any great length to convince the reporters gathered around him. His answer was short and sweet.
I am told by someone who knows that Jackson “would leave in a heartbeat” to become head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals if that job opened up. It hasn’t yet. Marvin Lewis is still there – hanging by a thread, maybe, but he’s still there.
If Lewis goes, then so does Jackson – to Cincinnati. The Bengals would presumably give the Browns an NFL Draft pick to pry him out of his contract, and Haslam and new Cleveland General Manager would be only too happy to do it.
It would give the Browns – and more specifically, Haslam — an out. Haslam doesn’t want to be accused again of “blowing this thing up” too soon. But he knows the negative implications of alienating his fanbase by holding on to a coach who has been 1-31 in two years. And it would allow Dorsey a chance for him to bring in his own coach.
Haslam can talk all he wants about Dorsey and Jackson getting along like old buddies. They may well be doing that, but will it last, especially when things get tight, which they will?
Perhaps.
But perhaps not.
Haslam pulled off a coup when he got Dorsey, a very competent GM. But if he wants Dorsey to succeed, then he has to allow him to bring in his own coach, not one handed to him by the owner for, at least partly, the wrong reasons.
It’s a win-win-win situation, the last win being the Bengals – particularly owner Mike Brown – getting the man they really want, regardless of Jackson’s record with the Browns.
So stay tuned. This Jackson situation isn’t settled just yet – not by a long shot, in fact.
