Browns’ Jackson believes he’ll be retained
Coach: Cleveland owner’s support has ‘never wavered.’
Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson has no doubt he’ll back next year despite a 1-30 record over the past two seasons.
In his strongest statement to date, Jackson said Wednesday that he “unequivocally believes without question” that owner Jimmy Haslam will keep his word and not fire him following Sunday’s finale in Pittsburgh. Haslam announced Dec. 8 that Jackson will return next season.
Jackson said he understands why there continues to be rampant speculation about his future. After all, the Browns are 0-15 and with a loss this week will join the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to go 0-16.
Jackson believes he has shown Haslam that he is “the guy to help this organization get where it needs to be.”
The Browns haven’t made the playoffs since 2002 and are 2-40 since winning their most recent road game in 2015, but Jackson said Haslam’s support has “never wavered.”
Tomlin noncommittal about lineup: Mike Tomlin isn’t sure how long of a break he wants to give his star players before the postseason begins.
The Pittsburgh Steelers coach is going to wait to determine how much Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and company play during Sunday’s regular-season finale against Cleveland.
The Steelers (12-3) wrapped up their third AFC North title in four years earlier this month and secured a firstround bye by dominating Houston on Christmas night.
A shot at the top seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs remains a possibility, a scenario the relies almost exclusively on the New York Jets beating New England on the road, something the Jets have done only once in the past decade — and even that came in 2008 when Tom Brady was out with a knee injury.
“We will play to win that football game,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “Who we choose to employ or utilize or activate — we are in the process of discussing.”
The Steelers held out Roethlisberger, Bell and Antonio Brown in their meaningless 2016 finale against the Browns, when backup quarterback Landry Jones guided Pittsburgh to a comeback 27-24 victory.
Jones could again get the call or at least play extensively, though Tomlin insists he’s not going to make personnel decisions based on what the scoreboard is telling him about the game in Foxborough. One decision is already made for Tomlin. Brown will miss a second straight week while recovering from a strained left calf suffered in a loss to the Patriots on Dec. 17.
Tomlin remained noncommittal about Brown’s availability for the playoffs. Pittsburgh opens the postseason on Jan. 13 or 14. The perennial All-Pro posted video on his Instagram account on Christmas Day of him very gingerly walking up his driveway with a football in his hands.
When asked if there’s any concern about Brown dealing with rust should he return, Tomlin offered nothing but caution. “I didn’t say that (he will return),” Tomlin said. “So, we’ll see.”