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Hue Jackson: 'I totally have the support' of the Haslams despite 0-8
Updated on October 29, 2017 at 5:12 PM Posted on October 29, 2017 at 3:04 PM
By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com
TWICKENHAM, England -- Browns coach Hue Jackson isn't worried about the London Bridge falling down on the way home from Sunday's 33-16 loss to the Vikings.
Granted, the London games haven't always been kind to struggling NFL head coaches. Several have been fired over the years just after their chartered planes touched down in the States.
But Jackson isn't going to fret on the transatlantic flight even though he dropped to 0-8 and is now just 1-23 in his second season.
Even the upcoming bye week, which gives teams a lot of time to tweak and regroup, doesn't have him concerned about his job. Jackson said after a 1-15 season in 2016 that he would jump in Lake Erie if the Browns had the same mark this year.
Jackson believes that owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who made the trip to London and served beer to fans at a Browns Backers event Saturday night, understand what he's faced with. The Browns played their first game since 2006 without 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas; they were without star pass rusher Myles Garrett and three other defensive starters; they have a rookie quarterback feeling his way in DeShone Kizer; and the youngest team in the league.
At some spots, including receiver, they're bereft of talent. The guy who's supposed to be their No. 1 wideout right now, Kenny Britt, was benched and standing on the sidelines in uniform Sunday.
Jackson has tried to do the best he can with what he has to work with, and thinks the Haslams get it.
"I don't think it was articulated here (in London), but I still feel that (support),'' Jackson said. "I don't sense -- you guys would have to ask Jimmy that, but I totally have the support of Mr. and Mrs. Haslam. I don't feel any change in that. I know everybody is concerned about the losing, my job, this -- I mean, there's all kinds of questions out there. I get all that.
"That's never been what my thought process is (his job),'' he said. "Mine is trying to get this team to be the best it can be, keep this coaching staff working hard, keep these players working hard, and that's my charge. It can't be anything else. But no, I totally feel like I still have their support.''
The fact the Browns are still playing hard for him is a testament to how the players feel about him. They had their first lead after a full quarter this season when it was 6-3 at the end of one, and led 13-12 at the half -- their first halftime lead of the season.
"I still run through a wall for Hue,'' said linebacker Chris Kirksey. "Hue is a great coach. Our record doesn't show it but he's a great coach. He has our back, so at the end of the day, we're playing. We're the ones that have to run out there and execute the plays that they call.
"We're going to continue to fight for him. Hue's been fighting for us since Day One, so I'm not going to pin anything on him. It's a collective group that goes out there and tries to win ballgames. I'm still going to try to fight for him and I know my teammates will.''
Jackson acknowledged that the Browns have no margin for error with the talent deficit on the team. So when running back Isaiah Crowell gets stripped of the ball on the first play of the second half, and when Bryce Treggs -- subbing for Jabrill Peppers on returns -- muffs a first-quarter punt to set up a field goal, and when rookie kicker Zane Gonzalez misses an extra point and a 35-yard field goal, it's just not going to happen for this team.
"Everything has got to be perfect,' said Jackson. "That's where we are. Everything has got to be perfect for us to have a chance to win a football game. We get it, and our coaching staff gets it and our players get it, and we work that way. We try to do the best we can to get everything right, but we all know that's not how football is played.
"You can't be perfect, it's still a game. You're going to make mistakes and things are going to come up. Today we didn't make as many, so we were in the game for quite a while. Then all of a sudden we don't make some other plays I think we can make, and then the game flipped. That's kind of been the story of where we are.''
Still he has some good things to feel good about on the eight-hour flight home.
"Yeah, I do,'' he said. "This is the best thing I do know about this football team: They play hard. They don't give up. They don't quit. I think you guys all see this. This is not a group that turns its back, lays down, says, 'OK, we're done.' That's not what we're going to do. I've never coached a team that has ever done that, and this team will never do that. There's too much pride in the locker room. So that's what I'm most proud of.''
Still, he acknowledged, "we've got to find a way to win.''
There's a still a lake that's beckoning that he has no plans of jumping in.
Hue Jackson: 'I totally have the support' of the Haslams despite 0-8
Updated on October 29, 2017 at 5:12 PM Posted on October 29, 2017 at 3:04 PM
By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com
TWICKENHAM, England -- Browns coach Hue Jackson isn't worried about the London Bridge falling down on the way home from Sunday's 33-16 loss to the Vikings.
Granted, the London games haven't always been kind to struggling NFL head coaches. Several have been fired over the years just after their chartered planes touched down in the States.
But Jackson isn't going to fret on the transatlantic flight even though he dropped to 0-8 and is now just 1-23 in his second season.
Even the upcoming bye week, which gives teams a lot of time to tweak and regroup, doesn't have him concerned about his job. Jackson said after a 1-15 season in 2016 that he would jump in Lake Erie if the Browns had the same mark this year.
Jackson believes that owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who made the trip to London and served beer to fans at a Browns Backers event Saturday night, understand what he's faced with. The Browns played their first game since 2006 without 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas; they were without star pass rusher Myles Garrett and three other defensive starters; they have a rookie quarterback feeling his way in DeShone Kizer; and the youngest team in the league.
At some spots, including receiver, they're bereft of talent. The guy who's supposed to be their No. 1 wideout right now, Kenny Britt, was benched and standing on the sidelines in uniform Sunday.
Jackson has tried to do the best he can with what he has to work with, and thinks the Haslams get it.
"I don't think it was articulated here (in London), but I still feel that (support),'' Jackson said. "I don't sense -- you guys would have to ask Jimmy that, but I totally have the support of Mr. and Mrs. Haslam. I don't feel any change in that. I know everybody is concerned about the losing, my job, this -- I mean, there's all kinds of questions out there. I get all that.
"That's never been what my thought process is (his job),'' he said. "Mine is trying to get this team to be the best it can be, keep this coaching staff working hard, keep these players working hard, and that's my charge. It can't be anything else. But no, I totally feel like I still have their support.''
The fact the Browns are still playing hard for him is a testament to how the players feel about him. They had their first lead after a full quarter this season when it was 6-3 at the end of one, and led 13-12 at the half -- their first halftime lead of the season.
"I still run through a wall for Hue,'' said linebacker Chris Kirksey. "Hue is a great coach. Our record doesn't show it but he's a great coach. He has our back, so at the end of the day, we're playing. We're the ones that have to run out there and execute the plays that they call.
"We're going to continue to fight for him. Hue's been fighting for us since Day One, so I'm not going to pin anything on him. It's a collective group that goes out there and tries to win ballgames. I'm still going to try to fight for him and I know my teammates will.''
Jackson acknowledged that the Browns have no margin for error with the talent deficit on the team. So when running back Isaiah Crowell gets stripped of the ball on the first play of the second half, and when Bryce Treggs -- subbing for Jabrill Peppers on returns -- muffs a first-quarter punt to set up a field goal, and when rookie kicker Zane Gonzalez misses an extra point and a 35-yard field goal, it's just not going to happen for this team.
"Everything has got to be perfect,' said Jackson. "That's where we are. Everything has got to be perfect for us to have a chance to win a football game. We get it, and our coaching staff gets it and our players get it, and we work that way. We try to do the best we can to get everything right, but we all know that's not how football is played.
"You can't be perfect, it's still a game. You're going to make mistakes and things are going to come up. Today we didn't make as many, so we were in the game for quite a while. Then all of a sudden we don't make some other plays I think we can make, and then the game flipped. That's kind of been the story of where we are.''
Still he has some good things to feel good about on the eight-hour flight home.
"Yeah, I do,'' he said. "This is the best thing I do know about this football team: They play hard. They don't give up. They don't quit. I think you guys all see this. This is not a group that turns its back, lays down, says, 'OK, we're done.' That's not what we're going to do. I've never coached a team that has ever done that, and this team will never do that. There's too much pride in the locker room. So that's what I'm most proud of.''
Still, he acknowledged, "we've got to find a way to win.''
There's a still a lake that's beckoning that he has no plans of jumping in.
