"Joke of a person and coach" - Fans call out former Browns HC Hue Jackson for fabricating lies regarding Browns tanking
Hue Jackson was never the most popular person in Cleveland. He has now made matters worse by going back on his claim that the Browns paid him to lose games.
Lest we forget, the Cleveland Browns went 1-31 in the two seasons he was the team's head coach before he was fired midway through the 2018 season.
What Hue Jackson said and how to contradicted his first assertion
When Brian Flores announced that he was filing a lawsuit against the NFL alleging discriminatory practices in hiring head coaches, Hue Jackson supported the former Dolphins head coach. He also said that, like Flores, he had been offered financial bonuses to lose. Kimberly Diemert, the executive director of the Hue Jackson Foundation, suggested they had "records."
@KimberlyDiemer1 @NFL @nflcommish @Browns @espn I stand with Brian Flores. I can back up every word i’m saying.
When asked by a fan how much money he was offered, Jackson replied:
"Trust me it was a good number!"
@ericj_d Trust me it was a good number!
He has since gone back on his original claim after the Cleveland Browns, and owner Jimmy Haslam categorically denied the story. He has sought to clarify, saying that he was not paid per game but rather that his payouts were incentivized in a way that rewarded extraneous factors such as the number of draft picks and age of the team so that, in effect, losing made him reach his performance targets more than winning.
Hue Jackson, when asked by @elleduncanESPN on SportsCenter to explain what happened in Cleveland, after implying on Twitter he had been incentivized to tank: #Browns https://t.co/g7RTqFvRPO
If this part is true, it should be construed as an incentive to lose on purpose and therefore must not be discounted. But it is clear that his initial reply on Twitter was misleading. And now Cleveland Browns fans who suffered under his tenure have not held back.
Some straight-up accused him of being a joke, both as a person and a coach.
@ProFootballTalk Hue Jackson is a joke of a person and coach
Others referenced his constant excuses when he was losing with Cleveland and said they did not find it remotely surprising.
Hue Jackson made something up? You don't say. The least surprising story of the day. twitter.com/ProFootballTal…
Still, others pointed out that Jackson was given a chance for a third season after going 1-31 in his previous two seasons. No other coach would have been given that much leeway in any other organization. They pointed out the real victims of the era were the Cleveland Browns.
Hue Jackson retained his job after going winless, yet continues to act like he was done wrong in some way.
The only victim here is Cleveland. https://t.co/TElK2LNYIQ
Fans also pointed out that based on the clarification he provided, it meant that not only was he not set up to fail. Management understood the roster's limitations and set targets to build a roster capable of winning in the third year of his tenure.
Hue Jackson doesn't understand the difference between getting paid TO lose and getting paid WHILE you lose.
Other Cleveland Browns fans pointed out that Hue Jackson had made some baffling decisions during his tenure. Playing Carlos Hyde over Nick Chubb counts as one.
Hue Jackson went through an entire training camp on top of 8 weeks into the season and honestly thought Carlos Hyde was the better running back over nick chubb. His lawyer should be in court right now defending him from being thrown in jail, not on twitter.
And it looks like Jimmy Haslam agreed about Jackson not taking personal responsibility. In a statement, as one fan put it, he "brutalized" his former coach.
Wanna see a dead body? Jimmy Haslam just brutalized Hue Jackson to the Knoxville News Sentinel. #Browns
knoxnews.com/story/sports/c… https://t.co/tN0QdrKHtR
Some fans said that if Hue Jackson indeed had the goods, he should spill them out or leave them alone.
Hue Jackson is a fucking 🤡…Inwould love for him to release whatever dirt he has on the ownership/team already because he’s just looking like the loser he is and it’s embarrassing for Cleveland as well and he’s not even our coach anymore. Give us the proof or leave us alone! twitter.com/kellkill1/stat…
While the fan above called Jackson a clown, other fans were poking fun at the former head coach and putting out, one suspects, a statement that the Browns would have dearly loved to put out.
The #Browns come out swinging on Hue Jackson https://t.co/cSRLynXeqH
Whatever finally comes of this whole tale, Hue Jackson has done his reputation no favors. In the process, he may have done harm to possibly address a genuine grievance about the underrepresentation of minority coaches in the NFL.