It was often said, especially early in his short two-year tenure as Browns head coach, that Mike Pettine “won the press conference.”
He came across as a nice guy who was willing to answer any and all questions with honesty.
And that he did, which is a rare commodity among NFL head coaches who, for the most part, like dealing with the media about as much as they losing games. And they hate losing games..
It’s just that all that good stuff didn’t carry over to the sideline. There was no well thought-out plan, no confidence, no leadership and no drive.
He seemed as if Pettine were too cool, calm and collected. Did he want to win as much as Browns fans did? Did he do everything he could to try to win? Did he have a sense of urgency to win?
Nobody thought he was. Perhaps even Pettine didn’t think he was.
Hue Jackson didn’t win his first press conference as head coach of the Browns this evening. But he didn’t lose it, either.
In fact, this wasn’t about winning or losing in the Dino Lucarelli Media Room at Browns Headquarters. That kind of stuff doesn’t matter. There are no standings that reflect what a head coach does while sitting at the dais.
What is important is not just having a plan, but having the utmost confidence that, with hard work, determination, perseverance and a single-minded approach, the plan will work.
That seemed to come out of what Jackson said and didn’t say. He admitted that rebuilding the Browns was a challenge, but one that can and would be done. He said so not in rah-rah fashion, but with the knowledge that he knew how to do it. That was evident in the calmness and sincerity in his voice, and the eagerness as well.
Whether that plays out in a positive manner on Sunday afternoons is to be determined. There can be no declarations now, obviously. If this were a marathon, the race has yet to even begin.
But this much is sure: The Browns now have a guy who, while he didn’t last long or do much in his first go-around with the Oakland Raiders while trying to survive in a situation and with a franchise that was doomed to fail at that time, knows what he did wrong and how to correct it.
That he has a chance to do it for a fan base that desperately wants their coach to succeed – something he could certainly see in his trips in to Cleveland while with the Cincinnati Bengals — is not lost on Jackson.
It’s a wonderful opportunity for everybody involved.
And after months and months of nothing but negative events, negative vibes and negative news, having something and someone positive – a ray of sunshine – warmed up a brutally cold dead-of-winter night.
By Steve King
