Hue Jackson Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Hue Jackson hints he was paid to tank in Cleveland

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 2/2/22

Hue Jackson is in the history books for being the worst coach in modern NFL history. Now he seems to be suggesting some of the losing was intentional.

Jackson went 3-36-1 over two-plus seasons as the head coach in Cleveland. That includes a 1-15 record in 2016, 0-16 record in 2017, and then he was fired after going 2-5-1 in 2018.

Jackson saw the news Tuesday about Brian Flores suing the New York Giants and NFL for alleged racial discrimination after he was part of what he believes was a sham interview to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement. Jackson shared a few tweets indicating he was paid to tank in Cleveland.

He responded to one Twitter user and said that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam “was happy” when the Browns were losing those seasons.

Well Jimmy Haslam, was happy while we kept losing.

— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022

Jackson also told another user “trust me it was a good number” in response to someone talking about the $100,000 Flores allegedly was offered per loss.

Trust me it was a good number!

— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022

If the Browns were tanking intentionally in 2016 and 2017, the plan worked. They ended up with the No. 1 overall pick both seasons. They got Myles Garrett and then Baker Mayfield. They also drafted some other good players those two years, including David Njoku, Larry Ogunjobi and Nick Chubb. Last season they went 11-5 and won their first playoff game since 1994.

But if the plan for the Browns was to tank, that plan seemingly ended in 2018. If it were still in effect, Jackson likely wouldn’t have been fired for not winning more that season.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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