Former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson has some explaining to do.
Initially, he claimed that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam offered him the same incentive that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to Brian Flores.
Days after, he’s saying that there was no incentive of that nature in place?
Instead, he pointed out that the Browns had no intention of competing during his tenure.
But which is which, Hue?
Throwing support at Flores will weaken the former head coach’s lawsuit against the Dolphins and the league.
Recanting stories isn’t an indication of a trustworthy leader, which is what an NFL head coach must be.
Yet despite debunking his statement, the part about not planning to win may be genuine.
Four-Year Plan For Losing?
Jackson already admitted to CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he did not receive additional money for losing games.
However, he cited that his situation was comparable to Flores because their owners did not intend to get more wins than losses.
The current Grambling State head coach also revealed that the Browns had a “four-year plan” that benefitted some organizational figures when the team kept losing.
He revealed that Haslam gave bonus money for specific conditions such as having too many draft picks and fielding the youngest team in the league.
Their players might be talented, but it also takes experience to win in the NFL consistently.
As a result, Jackson became the scapegoat of the team’s futility after getting fired eight weeks into the 2018 season.
But if there’s a necessary reward for losing, then Haslam must be mad at Gregg Williams as well because he finished that season with a 5-3 record.
To his credit, it looked like the Browns tanked during his first two seasons as head coach.
The Browns Is The Browns
While JuJu Smith-Schuster coined that statement last year, it seemed appropriate during Jackson’s years in Cleveland.
The Browns became the punching bag of the NFL’s elite teams for a long time until they won a playoff game in 2020.
Unfortunately, their losing reached a new low when the 2017 Browns became the second team to lose all 16 regular-season games.
But their misery started in 2016 when Jackson took over Mike Pettine.
Cleveland won one game, and they could have lost if not for San Diego Chargers kicker Josh Lambo’s missed field goal to tie the game.
The season was essentially a disappointment besides that victory and Joe Thomas’ Pro Bowl inclusion.
Ten of their losses were by double digits, the worst of which was a 35-10 demolition by the Dallas Cowboys.
While they had some close games in 2017, they will still go down in history as an 0-16 team.
Jackson Must Make Up His Mind
Jackson already lost his credibility when he took back his claim about a reward system for the wrong reasons.
If that story isn’t true, it would be hard to believe that Haslam built the Browns for his imminent failure.
After all, great coaches always find a way to win even if the odds are not in their favor.
His best record as a head coach was 8-8 with the 2011 Oakland Raiders.
He finished that season losing four of their last five games.
If that’s the case, perhaps he was the problem.
More must-reads: