Ten days after firing head coach Mike Pettine, the Cleveland Browns have hired his replacement. Yesterday the team announced Hue Jackson, who was with the Cincinnati Bengals this past season as offensive coordinator, will be the Brown’s eighth head coach since 1999.
As WKSU’s Kevin Niedermier reports, Jackson says Brown’s owner Jimmy Haslam made him feel comfortable, despite the team’s reputation for not keeping coaches for long.
Hue Jackson has coached around the NFL for 15 years including one season as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. He interviewed this month for the San Francisco 49ers' head coaching job. And Jackson was about to interview with the New York Giants when the Brown’s offered him the position.
“I’d interviewed at some other places, I’ve talked with a lot of different people over the phone. I think I can judge people pretty well. And the feeling that I had after meeting with this group was different than the feeling I had after meeting and talking with others. So it was a no brainer for me.”
Jackson isn’t phased by the Browns' revolving door of head coaches and says winning will keep him employed.
At a restaurant across the street from the Browns training facility, longtime fan Sharon Quidkowski of Berea says she hopes he doesn’t become another casualty.
“I would love to see them keep him for a few years before they make a change again, give him a chance to see what he can do with the team.”
Jackson was the Browns first choice among the seven candidates interviewed.
