Hue Jackson’s Tough Love Is A Breath Of Fresh Air For Cleveland Browns

It didn’t take long for Hue Jackson to change the way minicamps go with the Cleveland Browns.

In his first chance to work with Cleveland’s latest rookie class, Jackson showed everyone the days of laid back practices and shying away from criticism are long gone. He had no interest in easing the new guys into the process, nor was he wary about being brutally honest in his feedback on a few players.

When Jackson came to Cleveland, he promised things would be changing and his players should expect a great deal of tough love. This weekend’s rookie minicamp is giving us our first glimpse of it.

It wasn’t long into the first day of practice before Jackson was making some pointed critique on his first-round pick, wideout Corey Coleman.

“He’s got to get in shape,” Jackson said. “He’s explosive and he can catch the ball. He’s extremely talented and gifted. (But) he’s one of the guys that has to get in shape.”

There was no beating around the bush, no veiled comment about how it’d be ideal for Coleman’s conditioning to be in a slightly better place. Jackson essentially put his first ever selection as Browns head coach on notice that he’s in the big leagues now, and that requires him to be that much better.

Additionally, Jackson has shifted gears when it comes to rookie QB Cody Kessler. Gone is the continual selling of the quarterback some believed was drafted way too high, replaced with the blunt truth that Kessler has plenty of work ahead of him.

“We had a walk-through today; it’s real short but at the same time he gave me 20 different pointers to learn from and work through,” Kessler said yesterday. “(Jackson’s) mindset is second to none.”

For those who’ve followed the Browns at least across the past few years, Jackson’s throwing the rookies into the deep end right away is a breath of fresh air.

Cleveland’s last coach, Mike Pettine, was famous for having minicamps and practices that could be politely defined as “soft.” Players were never really pushed physically, and as a result, conditioning would come into question often.

On top of that, we certainly didn’t see much from Pettine when it came to taking his players to task. Just look at last season, when 2014 eighth overall pick Justin Gilbert was struggling to even get on the active roster. Meanwhile, Pettine continued to claim that Gilbert was progressing and making great strides.

Though it’s only one weekend with the rookies, Jackson seems to be telling everyone that these Browns are going to be pushed and called out if they can’t handle it.

Perhaps the best thing about all of this is the players have been receptive to the tough love. Kessler seems gung-ho about being pressed to learn more and improve his game every day. Coleman didn’t hide when asked about Jackson calling him out of shape, claiming the coach was 100 percent correct. He admitted he wasn’t expecting nearly as much running as he endured the past couple days and vowed to be in better condition for OTAs.

This, too, is a welcome sign in Cleveland. The past regime had a knack for drafting players who didn’t seem too concerned about making football their top priority. Not only do the players in Jackson’s batch seem completely different, they already appear ready and willing to accept whatever lesson he has to teach them about being better.

Pushing your players to reach their potential. Handing out critique where it’s needed. These things don’t sound that complicated. However, they’ve been absent for the most part when it comes to the Browns.

Jackson is changing that, and it’s certainly getting his tenure with the Browns off to a great start.