Hue Jackson and Cleveland Browns coaching debuts
By Thomas Moore
Bud Carson: 1989 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers
Of all the unexpected and unexplained things to happen to the Browns on opening day, the first game under head coach Bud Carson may have topped them all. The Browns visited Three Rivers Stadium, the former house of horrors, and embarrassed the Steelers in every way possible during a 51-0 win.
Cleveland’s defense held Pittsburgh to 53 yards of total offense, sacked Steeler quarterback Bubby Brister six times and forced eight turnovers. Three of the turnovers resulted in touchdowns as linebacker Clay Matthews returned a fumble three yards, and linebacker David Grayson scored on a 28-yard fumble return and a 14-yard interception return.
The game was Cleveland’s first opening-day shutout since the 1971 opener and, while no one knew it at the time, the last debut win by a Browns head coach.
Bill Belichick: 1991 vs. the Dallas Cowboys
The Bill Belichick era got off to a disappointing start in a 26-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, who had no trouble moving the ball against Belichick’s defense in running 75 plays and gaining 395 yards of offense.
The Browns took an early 7-3 lead on Kevin Mack’s one-yard touchdown run, but the Cowboys came back with 17 points in the second quarter to take a lead that they would not surrender.
Cleveland closed the gap to six points on the opening play of the second half when Bernie Kosar hit Webster Slaughter for a 62-yard touchdown, but would get no closer. The running game was also non-existent as the Browns could only manage 32 yards on the ground, led by Eric Metcalf’s 13 yards on three carries.
Next: It all starts to fall apart