Would you look at that? The Cleveland Browns ended their latest coaching search in record time — and it didn’t result in them rushing to hire an unknown offensive line coach’s assistant to fill the position.
Wow, color me impressed.
The Browns spoke with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson this past Sunday, and apparently left the meeting impressed. Jackson was considered one of the top coaches available, and was a target of more than a few franchises. However, he had an interview booked for tomorrow with the New York Giants, a meeting Cleveland badly had to stop him from going to.
Sure enough, they did just that. Owner Jimmy Haslam reportedly reached out to Jackson this morning to offer him the job, and instead of laughing and hanging up as many pundits felt he’d do, he actually accepted.
When he did, the praise came in from multiple angles. Players, former coworkers and media members all love the hire. This is completely understandable, as Jackson is a tremendous acquisition for the Browns.
Why? Well, let’s take a look at some of the basic reasoning why everyone should be impressed with Cleveland’s new coach. For one, Jackson has head coaching experience, albeit limited. He’s coming from the same division, as well, and knows how to plan against the teams Cleveland will see six times a year. He was a top candidate, heavily sought after by other teams which offered much more than the Browns can.
Finally, when you say “Cleveland hired Hue Jackson,” nobody responds with, “Who the heck is Hue Jackson?”
Seriously, if you’re a Browns fan still questioning the move after this, I’m not sure what else I could tell you. However, if more selling is necessary, allow me to oblige.
For one, look at the way this hire paints the team in general. How many people assumed that, if Jackson met with the Giants, he’d simply turn the Browns down? It’d be an obvious choice, as would his choosing any of the other open vacancies.
Instead, Jackson picked the team without a franchise quarterback, with a history of losing and no sense of consistency whatsoever. Who knows how Cleveland convinced him this opening was the best one to take, but whatever Haslam said must have been one heck of a sell.
If you’ve taken a look at the reaction to this hire, the majority of it is positive. The media thinks it’s a solid move, while players both on the Browns and off have been tweeting their excitement or great feedback regarding Jackson.
This, too, is actually quite significant. Remember, when the Browns finished this recent miserable season, a sizable amount of players sounded like they wanted to be anywhere but Cleveland next year. Based on the league-wide reaction to this hire, things may have changed a bit.
Jackson is known as one of the most likable coaches in the NFL, and is someone players absolutely love. Will this mean everybody wants to be with the Browns now? Probably not. But, for a team in dire need for any sort of positive to attract players, a coach everyone seems to love is a good place to start.
Overall, this is quite an impressive day for the Browns. After years of hiring coaches nobody had heard of or being forced to sign their sixth or seventh choice after getting turned down by everyone else, they were able to get the guy they wanted all along.
Cleveland had its ideal coach in mind and it got him. It’s been forever since such a statement has been made, and for that reason, Browns fans should definitely be excited today.
