CLEVELAND -- Hue Jackson’s biggest regret during his two-and-a-half-year tenure as head coach of the Cleveland Browns is giving up what got him the job in the first place.
Four days after being relieved of his coaching duties with the Browns, Jackson spoke to ESPN’s First Take Friday, and during his first television appearance since the moves were made, he expressed regret over giving up play-calling to now former offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
“When you look back at it now, I wish I would’ve kept doing what I was doing, what got me the job in the first place,” Jackson said.
“First thing, I would not ever have given away the offense. That’s what I got hired for. If you’re going to go out, you go out doing the things that you know and that you truly believe in. That was a tough spot. When you’re 1-15, 0-16 and you’re in a situation where there’s been a lot of losing already, it’s tough to make those choices and decisions.”
Although Jackson regretted giving up play-calling, he accepted responsibility for hiring both Haley, who was also let go by the Browns Monday, and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, now the interim coach, onto the staff.
“I thought we needed guys that could change the narrative in Cleveland,” Jackson said.
“I thought we needed strong personalities to lead both sides of the ball because we need to come out and play extremely well, so again, my relationship with Todd is still my relationship with him. What I mean by that is, we haven’t talked since we both departed, but I think we respect each other as football coaches.”
Hired in January of 2016 to replace Mike Pettine, Jackson posted a 3-36-1 record and was 1-13-1 within the AFC North Division in his two-plus years as head coach of the Browns. Included in that record were the Browns’ two worst seasons in franchise history, a 1-15 mark in 2016 and only the second 0-16 season in NFL history in 2017.
“Let’s be honest, I knew I was on the clock,” Jackson said. “You can’t be 1-15, 0-16 and think you can go through the season and not win football games, so I wanted to surround myself with guys that have done it and done it at a high level, and Todd Haley was definitely one of those guys.
“I think the fastest way to make an impact with a team that hadn’t won a lot of games is within your division. Here’s a guy that had done a great job within the division of playing these teams and been very successful. Why not Todd Haley? Again, everybody has different personalities, but at the end of the day, if it’s truly about winning, you do what you think is best to put the team in a position to have success.”
Following Sunday’s 33-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, Jackson attempted to take back the play-calling duties from Haley, but he did not get the chance to do so, as owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager John Dorsey felt it was time for a change.
And Jackson understands that the Browns did not win enough for him to remain with the team.
“At the end of the day, I think what was most important was that we just didn’t get it done on offense,” Jackson said. “I think that’s the message that should be out there, that we did not play as well on offense to get it done.”
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