Can Hue Jackson fix the Cleveland Browns QB issue?

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson has a reputation as a quarterback guru and he will need all his powers to fix the quarterback mess.

The Cleveland Browns took what has the potential to be a big step forward this week with the hiring of Hue Jackson as the franchise’s 16th full-time head coach.

Jackson hasn’t even run his first practice with the Browns, but he already has a fan in quarterback Josh McCown.

“When I watch the tape from this year and the last few years, I have respect for what the Bengals were doing because there’s a plan, there’s an intent to where they’re attacking defenses,” McCown told cleveland.com. “It’s well thought out and put together. To me, that’s the biggest compliment of anything, because you are what you put on tape and that’s what excites me the most about this.

“You can get a bunch of opinions from different people, but when you put on the tape, that’s when you really know what you’re getting as a coach and a play caller. For me, that’s the best evaluation I can get of a coach, and I have great respect for the kind of offense he runs.”

“As a quarterback, you’ve got to get excited about playing for a guy like that.” – Josh McCown on Hue Jackson

Jackson brings with him a well-earned reputation for getting the most out of his quarterbacks. Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton had a career year in Jackson’s offense this season. Even more impressive was that Jackson actually was able to make Jason Campbell – who Browns fans will remember for his “moral victories” in 2013 – during their time together in Oakland.

Jackson will have his work cut out for him as he is now the latest in a long line of coaches who are tasked with solving a quarterback riddle that has plagued the Browns since 1993.

McCown, surprisingly, was on his way to posting one of the best single seasons by a Cleveland quarterback before breaking his collarbone and missing the season’s final five games. He’s a good guy to have on the team, but will be turning 37 this summer and is nothing more than a short-term solution.

Austin Davis showed that he is a nice player to have as a team’s third quarterback and emergency season-finale starter, a role that Connor Shaw has also shown he is capable of filling, but counting on either player to be anything more than that may be beyond even Jackson’s considerable coaching powers.

“Obviously we will be able to look into [a] player’s past and see exactly what he’s done because what you see is what you get.” Head coach Hue Jackson

Even before Jackson was hired, Johnny Manziel‘s future with the Browns was in question. But after hearing Jackson talk about what he wants from his players, it is pretty clear that Manziel’s time in Cleveland is growing increasingly short.

“You have to have leadership, and I think players have to have some leadership, too, obviously in the locker room,” Jackson said during his introductory news conference. “After that, I think it is integrity. I think the players have to understand integrity is very, very important. Then, you have to be accountable. You have to be accountable for what you are doing and how you are doing it. Then, you have to have some passion. You have to have great passion for what you are doing.”

Take a look at that list – leadership, integrity, accountability, passion – and there is not a single quality that you can put a check mark next to Manziel’s name.

Jackson expanded on his thoughts during an interview with a Cleveland radio station.

“Obviously we will be able to look into [a] player’s past and see exactly what he’s done because what you see is what you get,” Jackson told 92.3 The Fan. “What’s in there is the same things you’re going to get as you move forward. People don’t change too much that way and it’s going to precede them so we’ll know exactly what the character of that person is.

“Now, I think that you can help some of that by creating the right environment for people to grow and get better and that’s one of my jobs, but at the same time we’re looking for players that have great character. In order to be a Cleveland Brown, that’s definitely going to be one of our prerequisites.”

Let’s go out on a (very short) limb and say that, one way or another, the Browns are going to move on from Manziel in the coming weeks.

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Unless the Browns decide to make a trade or dip into free agency to add another “bridge quarterback” to their collection, that leaves the upcoming draft as their next best option.

The Browns have been linked to both of what are considered the top two quarterbacks – Cal’s Jared Goff (by ESPN’s Mel Kiper, among others) and Memphis’ Paxton Lynch (by ESPN’s Todd McShay, among others) – and should have their choice of the two as they hold the second overall pick in the draft.

Selecting a quarterback at No. 2 would mean that the Browns would miss out on Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa, who could bring a playmaking presence to the defense that is needed almost as much as the offense needs a quarterback.

It’s also possible (although less likely) that, if they don’t like any of the options in this year’s draft, that the Browns could roll one more year with McCown and see what the 2017 draft brings.

The only real certainty is that the long-term answer at quarterback is not currently on the roster and answering that riddle will take all of Jackson’s acumen as a quarterback guru.