Could Hue Jackson be next to go in Berea?

WHO COULD BE THE NEXT TO GO IN BEREA?

By STEVE KING

Josh Gordon is gone.

So is Zane Gonzalez.

Advertisement: Cleveland Football Shirts!

Could anyone else be tossed out the door at Browns Headquarters in Berea anytime soon?

Yes, possibly.

Well, who?

The head coach.

That’s right, I’m talking about Hue Jackson.

I wish I wasn’t talking about Hue. I like him. I like him a lot. Despite everything – all the losses, numbing in both number and also in how many of them have occurred – I still think Jackson can, and will someday, be a successful NFL head coach.

I just don’t know if it will be in Cleveland.

Again, I hope it will be here that Hue does it. I hope and pray so for a lot of different reasons, the first and foremost of them being that if Hue succeeds here, so, too, will the Browns, of course. And if that happens, then all this darn losing will stop – or at least slow down.

Now, wouldn’t that be nice? Of course, it would.

But you deserve the truth from me – I’ve always told you the truth, at least the truth the way I saw it, and what I thought about that truth – and in doing so once more, I can’t say for sure that Hue will survive much longer.

I know it. You know it. Other fans know it. The players know it. The other coaches know it. The media knows it. People around the league know it.

And even Hue knows it. He said as much while talking to the media on Tuesday as the Browns continued to get ready for Thursday night’s nationally-televised game against the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium.

When asked if he felt the pressure to win after being so close to doing so in the first two games of the season, Jackson started his reply by saying, “I don’t know if it is the pressure. We just need to do it.”

Yes, he does know it’s the pressure. He feels it. Goodness, how can he not feel it? But he can’t say it. He can’t say he feels it and by doing put himself – and his well-being – ahead of that of the team.

Later during his press conference, Hue was asked if this was a crucial game for the organization, given that it is on national TV.

Again, it was the start of his response that was key: “You can look at it that way. I think every game is crucial.”

Yes, it is, especially now. This can’t continue on much longer without owner Jimmy Haslam being forced – reluctantly so, because he likes Hue a lot as well – to make a change. At the end of the day, after all, this is a business, one in which winning is, in effect, really all that matters. Hue can save himself by winning. It’s no more complicated than that.

So, then, come on, Hue, win this game!

Do it for the team, the organization, the fans, the city and region, and for yourself!

Advertisement: For all ages!