Miserable win record Browns let Jackson go

HUE Jackson was fired on Monday as coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, ending a miserable tenure guiding the club that saw them win only three times in 40 games.

Jackson was sacked after Cleveland’s 33-18 loss on Sunday at Pittsburgh, the Browns third consecutive defeat which dropped them to 2-5 with one drawn this season.

“We greatly appreciate Hue’s commitment to the Cleveland Browns over the last two and a half years,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, a 27-year coaching veteran with head coaching experience, was named interim head coach.

Williams was coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2001 to 2003, going 17-31 with seasons of 3-13, 8-8 and 6-10. As a defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, Williams was found to have run a “bounty” scheme involving payouts for hits that injured or knocked opponents from games.

He was suspended from March 2012 to February 2013.

After going 1-15 in Jackson’s first season and enduring only the second 0-16 campaign in NFL history last season, the Browns began this campaign 2-2-1 with optimism.

Haslam made front office changes but gave Jackson one final chance at reviving the team’s fortunes.

But after a 12-9 overtime home victory against Baltimore, the Browns fell 38-14 to the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-23 in overtime at Tampa Bay and again to the Steelers, whom they drew 21-21 in the season opener.

Second worst percentage

That set the stage for Haslam and Browns general manager John Dorsey to dump Jackson, whose replacement would be the Browns’ sixth coach over 10 seasons, and offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who will be replaced by running backs coach Freddie Kitchens.

The Browns have not reached the playoffs since 2002 and have not had a winning season since 2007.

Jackson, 53, also coached the Oakland Raiders in 2011 to an 8-8 record before coming to the Browns.

Jackson’s career .205 win percentage is the second worst in NFL history among all who have coached at least 40 games, only ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Bert Bell, who went .176 from 1936 to 1941 – but he owned the team.

In the past 2 1/2 seasons, the Browns have the NFL’s worst record, fewest points and offensive efficiency.