Internal feud dooms Jackson
Only three victories in 40 Browns games didn’t help situation
BEREA, Ohio — Browns owner Jimmy Haslam finally tried the patient approach with his head coach.
That didn’t work, either. Haslam made his fourth coaching change since 2012 by firing Hue Jackson, who won just three of 40 games over two-plus seasons and then lost his job because of a feud with offensive coordinator Todd Haley that went public and threatened to turn a promising season into another one of those Cleveland catastrophes.
Haslam fired Jackson and Haley within hours of each other on Monday, a day after the Browns (2-5-1) lost their 25th consecutive road game — one shy of the NFL record.
“Hopefully, we made a big step today,” Haslam said. “It is hard to win in the NFL. If anybody knows that, it is us. I think the message today is we are not going to put up with internal discord. We want people who are collaborative and work together.”
As for his poor track record in finding coaches, Haslam offered no excuses.
“I will accept the blame because ultimately, it is the person at the head of the ship,” he said. “I will take the blame as ownership. I can’t explain it more than that. We have had different situations with different people. I know that it is something that we are not going to tolerate moving forward.”
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is Cleveland’s interim coach, and running backs coach Freddie Kitchens will take over for Haley.
Haslam said Williams, who coached Buffalo from 2001-03, was the only inhouse candidate considered to finish the season. While Williams has extensive experience and won a Super Bowl, he also has a checkered past. He was suspended by the league for a full season in 2012 for his role in the “Boun- tygate” scandal that rocked the New Orleans Saints.
Haslam said it’s premature to consider the next coaching hire for the Browns, who are 22-81-1 since he and his wife, Dee, agreed to buy the franchise in 2012.
There are already names floating around as potential candidates to be Cleveland’s next coach, including Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, who coached Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in college.
“Not right now,” Riley said of his interest in jumping to the NFL. “You sit here and answer these questions and I always want to be truthful. The truth is for me is, I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here. I love college football. I certainly don’t have that itch right now.”