Cleveland Browns: Hue Jackson’s culture of ‘Not Me’
By Peter Smith
To get ahead with the Cleveland Browns under head coach Hue Jackson, you just have to remember one rule: Blame someone else.
Culture is such a focal point when it comes to discussing the Cleveland Browns. The desire to create a winning culture has been something this organization has been chasing after since it was re-established in 1999 and arguably, the culture now is as bad as it’s ever been. Well, sort of.
In the two seasons he’s been the head coach, Hue Jackson has become an expert at blaming everyone else for the team’s state. Not so much an expert as Jackson blames anyone else he can find, but he’s pretty terrible at it and no one’s buying it. That is everyone except the owner of the team, Jimmy Haslam.
Ray Horton, Sashi Brown, DeShone Kizer, Isaiah Crowell, the media (for Jackson’s leaks), both teams having 11 players on the field…you get the idea. When the leader of the team is constantly shirking blame and avoiding responsibility, it bleeds into the locker room.
The most notable example of this was when Kizer blamed Crowell for a bad pitch he threw in a red zone play that resulted in a fumble and turnover. Fortunately, that’s the only example of player on player crime in public. That must’ve been a proud moment for Jackson, having his quarterback emulate him like that.
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Jackson will constantly insist he’s not running from the record, now 1-30. He may not be running, but he’s doing a ton of dodging, even going as far as saying that the record won’t define him as a coach, which begs the question, what does?
Jackson’s willingness to toss everyone else under the bus has people openly asking the question of whether or not he has lost the team. There has been some push back from players like Christian Kirksey, but even that wasn’t fullthroated. The players play hard and try to win, but that may be a matter of professionalism and simply trying to fight for themselves more than it is for Jackson.
This came to a head a little bit this past week when running back Duke Johnson came to Kizer’s defense.
#Browns Duke Johnson acknowledged that DeShone Kizer’s “confidence is probably shot” but it’s up to friends, family and teammates to help him keep his head up
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) December 20, 2017
Johnson mentions everyone except the coaching staff. It’s frustrating that one player has to essentially stand up for another when it comes to being criticized by the head coach. When the tone set by the head coach is that you get by through blaming anyone else, it’s impossible to stress accountability. It doesn’t exist. How can it?
This seemingly negative atmosphere hasn’t impacted everyone on the the Browns.
“If there’s the opportunity to turn things around, that’s what great players do. They don’t complain or become complacent with losing. They just go back to work every day and try to turn things around and make wherever they are a great place to be,” per Pat McManamon of ESPN.com.
That’s from Myles Garrett, when he was actively campaigning for the Browns to take him with the top pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. After having his interception return for a touchdown called back against the Chicago Bears, Garrett was seen on the sideline basically comforting Carl Nassib, the offending player.
After the game, Garrett said of the play, “It hurts. It sucks. But you’ve got to keep on playing each down, try to get it again, no matter how it comes.” He didn’t point fingers or dwell on it. Nassib knows he screwed up.
Kirksey echoed that sentiment. “You’ve got to move on. You can’t say shoulda, coulda, woulda.” This has been a pretty consistent theme from the Browns defensive players, who have been extremely supportive of each other. The other important example was on the Jabrill Peppers hit that was called a personal foul and fined against the Detroit Lions and every one of them said Peppers shouldn’t change a thing. They embrace the next play mentality players have to have to succeed.
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It’s a shame the the head coach doesn’t think the same way, so often using his platform to dog his players. Not only do the Browns need to get a head coach in here who is accountable and will hold himself responsible for the product on the field before this one squeezes the life out of this group of players, but it brings up an important point that’s relevant given the past few days.
It’s been reported that UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen would prefer to go to the New York Giants over the Cleveland Browns. He hasn’t said it himself that anyone can verify, but it’s out there. Meanwhile, part of the reason Jimmy Garoppolo is a member of the San Francisco 49ers is that he didn’t want to play for the Browns and the New England Patriots accommodated him.
The Browns have to own the fact that they are an organization that can cause these type of feelings from players, but they also should keep that in mind when it comes to accountability. If those two quarterbacks don’t want to be here, they aren’t the quarterback the Browns need to turn this thing around. Like with Garrett, they need someone with the talent to be special at the quarterback position but also seeks to embrace that challenge, that sees the Browns as an opportunity rather than a sentence.
Garrett has that mindset and rather than hoping a player to come here and embrace it, find someone who has that mentality from the jump. The Browns have players like that and simply need to find more of them, including the most important position of quarterback. That might be the most compelling reason against trading down from Carson Wentz. He was eager for the challenge the Browns presented.
And much like happened with Sam Darnold of USC where reports of him going back to USC were fueled by the possibility of being picked by the Browns were bogus, this report with Rosen could be as well. But, in the event Rosen doesn’t want to be a Brown, that’s not a reason to disparage him, but it is a reason to get the guy who does want to be here and match him with the right coach. Instead of having anyone in this organization who is relying on excusing themselves by saying “not me”, find the guys who want to step up to that challenge and embracing the mindset “It’s on me.”
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Hue Jackson may well be the source of the worst culture the Cleveland Browns have ever had, but as much as it has taken hold in Berea, the players individually don’t seem to be following suit, at least not yet. Jackson’s presence is such a negative that it makes rooting for the Browns difficult as they are currently constructed as success for them is an endorsement of what he’s doing. The players and fans deserve much better and the one thing that’s painfully clear is it won’t be Hue Jackson’s fault if this team starts winning games.