Browns fire coach Jackson, OC Haley
BEREA, Ohio — Hue Jackson’s failed, flawed tenure with the Cleveland Browns is finally over.
The team fired its embattled coach on Monday, ending a run of futility nearly unmatched in NFL history. Jackson, who went 3-36-1 in two-plus seasons, was dismissed on Monday by general manager John Dorsey with the backing of owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam.
The Browns also dismissed offensive coordinator Todd Haley and named defensive coordinator Gregg Williams interim coach. Haley was in his first season on Jackson’s staff after spending the previous six in Pittsburgh.
“We greatly appreciate Hue’s commitment to the Cleveland Browns organization over the last 2 1/2 years,” the Haslams said. “We understand how critical this time period is in the development of our football team, individually and collectively, and believed it was in the organization’s best interest to make the move at this time, in order to maximize our opportunities the rest of this season. We certainly only wish Hue, Michelle and his family the best moving forward.”
Jackson’s firing came a day after the Browns (2-5-1) lost their 25th straight road game — 20 of them coming with Jackson in charge.
The Browns, who have not made the playoffs since 2002 amid a slew of coaching changes, have lost three straight games after a promising start to this season. They tied Pittsburgh in Week 1 but were beaten 33-18 on Sunday by the Steelers.
Jackson is the sixth straight Cleveland coach to be fired following the team’s second game against Pittsburgh. Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski and Mike Pettine all met the same demise. The Browns host the Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) on Sunday. For now, Williams is in charge. He went 17-31 in three seasons as Buffalo’s coach from 2001 to ’03, but the animated assistant is perhaps best known for being suspended by the NFL for the 2012 season for his role in the “Bountygate” scandal that rocked the New Orleans Saints.
Also, running backs coach Freddie Kitchens was promoted to offensive coordinator.