New Browns head coach Hue Jackson says he won’t hire an offensive coordinator.

That’s a smart move, and an understandable one as well.

But it’s also an extremely risky move.

First things first. Jackson was brought here because of his expertise on offense and in indentifying and developing quarterbacks, something that the Browns have never really had in a head coach in the expansion era.

With that having been said, he’s going to use that ability to run the offense himself – completely and totally, no ifs, ands or buts about it. After all, why hire someone to re-do your kitchen when you feel there’s no one out there who is as well equipped to do that than you? If you want the job right, then do it yourself. Jackson likes being a head coach again, so he’s not going to place his job security in someone else’s hands. Who can blame him for that?

Anyway, an offensive coordinator would be such only in name. Do you really think that Jackson was going to turn over his offense to someone else? So why name one and blur the lines and responsibilities, opening yourself up to constant scrutiny if things don’t work out well on that side of the ball? With Jackson also wearing the o-coordinator’s hat, then both bucks will stop at his desk.

But at the same time, the only things that Jackson will be evaluated more closely on than offense and quarterbacks, is winning. It supersedes everything. Winning is the only thing that really matters.

If the Browns score no more than 17 points in any game next year and go 12-4, Jackson will likely be named AFC Coach of the year. But if they average 28 points a game but give up an average of 31 and go 7-9 and miss the playoffs, then it will be a wash and Jackson will have had only a so-so first season. He will be blamed for the defense being porous for yet another year. After all, he’s the head coach.

To do the offense properly, Jackson is going to have to jump in up to his waist on that side of the ball. There’s a lot to be done.

But he can’t be two places at once, so while he’s coaching the offense, can he really be focusing on the defense, the special teams and any of the other hundred things that come up during a game?

I don’t know.

So he might be compromising the overall good of the team because of the time spent with the offense. He’s the CEO of the team. You can’t send Picasso out to get the paint. That’s for some underling to do.

Jackson will need people he really trusts working as his defensive and special teams coordinators so he doesn’t have to keep dropping what he’s doing to attend to problems in those other two areas. I sure as heck wouldn’t trust Chris Tabor, who has been retained to handle special teams. Perhaps – and hopefully – Jackson will do better with his choice as d-coordinator, maybe even enough that it will overcome his swing and a miss on Tabor. If he brings back Ray Horton to run the defense, then that might be possible.

But in any event, the wheels are turning, and it’s hopeful to see a man who seems to know what he’s doing, start the rebuilding of the Browns.

By Steve King