Jackson wants more say, not control, over personnel

Hue Jackson, upon learning his job as Browns head coach is safe for next year, expects to have more say in player acquisitions in collaboration with the next general manager.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on Dec. 7 fired Sashi Brown as executive vice president of football operations. At the same time, Haslam announced Jackson will return as head coach in 2018 despite the Browns’ being 0-12 this season and 1-27 going back to the start of the 2016 season.

Jackson does not want complete control like a bigname coach such as Jon Gruden or Jim Harbaugh might. But he wants more input than he had the last two years when Brown, with no football experience as a talent evaluator, was given final say on all roster matters.

“I don’t think that’s something that I want to have personally,” Jackson said after practice. “I would like to know and be in concert with the person that will do those things. I think that (control of the 53-man roster) is too much of a role to be the head coach and do all of those particular things. But whoever that person is is somebody that I’d have to work very closely with and feel very comfortable with as we move forward.”

Jackson did not disparage Brown and wouldn’t say he was uncomfortable working with him.

“I don’t look at it as a power struggle,” Jackson said. “I think where we are today is the organization made a decision to do something different. I stand behind that wholeheartedly, grateful for the opportunity to still be here and grateful for the opportunity to coach this team and that is what I’m going to do.”

Jackson is choosing to look forward rather than at the past. The Browns have two picks in the first round, three in the second and 13 picks overall in the 2018 draft. They also have more than $59 million in salary cap room — the most of any team in the NFL.

Haslam does not want to trust those resources to Brown but instead to an experienced football executive. That is why he hired John Dorsey, a former general manager of the Chiefs who has more than 20 years experience in the front office.

Jackson said being aligned with the front office is critical to turning the 1-27 record around.

“I know one thing (Haslam) really, truly wants is collaboration, people working together — not that anybody wasn’t,” Jackson said. “This is a performance-based business. I get it. My performance, if you measure it by wins and losses, is not very good. At the same time, I’m in charge with coaching this team and trying to do the best I can with what I have.”

Players in the Browns locker room are happy they won’t have to start from scratch with a different head coach next training camp. Assuming nothing changes and Jackson is retained — Haslam can always change his mind if his preferred general manager demands the power to name his own coach — he would become the first Browns head coach to make it to a third year since Romeo Crennel, who coached the Browns from 2005 to 2008.

“I think consistency within the coaching staff’s a good thing,” Browns AllPro left tackle Joe Thomas, now on injured reserve with a triceps injury, said. “I think Hue’s a great coach and it’s important to have that consistency, especially for all the young players we have. They’re being developed right now and it’s important for them to have a single voice from a head coach and a single voice from their position coach molding them into NFL players.”