The Cleveland Browns are by no means a juggernaut in terms of talent, but whatever talent they have, coaching has held it back from being more successful.
There couldn’t be a more accurate metaphor for Hue Jackson’s two seasons as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns than attempting to make good on a proclamation he made the previous year only to end up in Lake Erie with his rear hanging out. And yet, he’s getting a third. Nothing Jackson has done with the Browns has worked and 1-31 later, he’s getting prepared for his third year.
Whether you’re a person that thinks Hue Jackson has been a total disaster and it’s basically just waiting for him to get fired after year three, or you fall into the camp trying to give Jackson a clean slate, there’s one undeniable fact that both can agree on: had Jackson hired a credible offensive coordinator in year two as opposed to year three, there would be a substantially different feeling about him going into year three.
This has been the biggest issue with Jackson. He doesn’t learn from his mistakes until it’s almost irrelevant. Todd Haley is a credible coordinator that has had a ton of success in recent years, but because Jackson buried himself so deep, anything the Browns do this year offensively, the credit will go to Haley and the sense will be that the success was in spite of Jackson, not because of him.
Haley comes in with a ton of fanfare. He’s also already generated unrealistic expectations among fans. There’s a sense that, because Haley was calling the plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who boasted a top five offense for the his entire tenure, that the Browns will at least be in the top 10.
First, Haley didn’t quit. He was fired. And when the Browns hired Haley, he wasn’t a popular candidate where teams were fighting to get him. Last but most important, Haley may be a good coordinator, but Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown aren’t coming with him. All three of those players could end up in Canton when their careers are over, but at least for now, Bell and Brown are top five at their respective positions and some will argue both are the best. And Roethlisberger is a fringe top five quarterback.
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There is reason to believe that the presence of Haley will improve the offense and maybe more importantly, allow Hue Jackson to manage the game from a bigger perspective. The Browns have been dreadful with clock management the past two years. Poor use of timeouts, not getting points at the end of halves or allowing opponents to get points at the end of halves not because of failures to execute by players, but coaching blunders with the clock.
The Browns were dead last the past two years. They earned it. But when the team is as poor as it was, they need every advantage they can get from the coaching staff. Instead, the Browns put a team that needed all the help it could get at an even greater disadvantage.
With Haley calling the plays, Jackson should be able to ensure calls get in before delay of games. He should be able to manage the clock and understand how and when to use timeouts. Given the size of staffs in the NFL, this isn’t really an excuse, but it further frees up Hue to focus on these aspects of the game. Jackson doesn’t need to be a tactical genius with the clock, but he can’t do harm.
Haley is a symptom of something that has plagued the head coach with the Browns. Jackson has basically flushed his entire coaching staff in two years. Just four coaches have managed to survive into their third season: Al Saunders, who has moved from wide receivers coach to senior offensive assistant; Greg Seamons, the tight ends coach; Mark Hutson, the assistant offensive line coach; and Brian Baswell, the offensive quality control coach. Every other position has been replaced at least once.
That’s on the head coach. One of the main jobs of the head coach is to be able to recruit and hire a good staff. Jackson, entering his third year, has managed to get Gregg Williams, Todd Haley and everyone else on offense worked for Hue in a previous job, most notably the Cincinnati Bengals. The defense is all guys Williams knows and a few, like his son Blake and Jerod Kruse, have incredibly thin resumes.
Four coaches on Jackson’s staff that simply wouldn’t be in the NFL if not for the Cleveland Browns, for better or worse. Saunders would likely be retired. Wylie would still be in Canada. Blake Williams and Jerod Kruse wouldn’t have a job on any professional team.
Hue Jackson has a lot to prove and the standard for the Cleveland Browns should be avoiding a third double digit loss season. It’s year three and it’s time to make a meaningful improvement with a better roster. The lowered expectations from some sectors are caused by Jackson’s only winning one game in two seasons. Those teams were better than that and Jackson couldn’t get it out of them. If that’s the case this year, it’s time for John Dorsey to find someone who will.