Hue Jackson and Cleveland Browns coaching debuts
By Thomas Moore
Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson will be looking to buck several streaks when the Browns take on the Philadelphia Eagles.
When the Cleveland Browns take the field on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles to open the 2016 NFL season, head coach Hue Jackson will be looking to break some disheartening streaks.
Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns are just 1-16 in season openers, with their last win on the season’s first weekend coming in 2004. They will carry an NFL-record 11-game Week 1 losing streak with them into Lincoln Financial Field.
Those losses include blowouts (against Pittsburgh in 1999 and 2007), last-minute defeats (Kansas City in 2002 and Philadelphia in 2012) and more forgettable games than we want to count.
Those numbers help explain why Jackson will also be looking to break a less-publicized, “Only in Cleveland” streak by the Browns. If Cleveland can pull out a win, Jackson will become the first Browns head coach to win his debut game since Bud Carson in 1989.
That was 27 years and seven head coaches ago, for those of you scoring at home.
It wasn’t always like that, of course, as the Browns first three head coaches all won their opening games in convincing fashion.
Let’s take a quick look down memory lane at the men who came before Jackson and how they fared in their debut NFL games.
Next: Starting off strong