Browns need to minimize Hue Jackson’s input on the quarterback position

Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey needs to limit the amount of input he receives from head coach Hue Jackson about the quarterback position.

The Cleveland Browns are going to have a busy week ahead of them as the NFL holds it annual Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

In addition to watching the various position groups go through a variety of drills that bear little resemblance to what actually goes on in an NFL game, team officials will have the opportunity to interview up to 60 players in a private setting.

It is safe to assume that general manager has the draft’s top quarterbacks – Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma, Lamar Jackson from Louisville, Sam Darnold from USC, Josh Rosen from UCLA and Josh Allen from Wyoming – on his interview list.

But as the Browns continue their annual search for a franchise quarterback, Mary Kay Cabot, Browns beat writer for cleveland.com, posed an interesting question today by wondering if head coach Hue Jackson will have more say in selecting the team’s quarterback of the future.

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A more salient question would be: hasn’t Jackson already done enough damage to the quarterback situation?

Jackson arrived in Cleveland in 2016 with a media-created reputation as a “quarterback whisperer” and vowing that he would be the man to fix a problem that has plagued the Browns since 1993.

But in two short years, Jackson:

• agreed with the assessment that Carson Wentz was not worth being drafted in 2016
• thought that Robert Griffin III was worth being signed
• didn’t believe that Deshaun Watson was worth being drafted in 2017
• believed that DeShone Kizer was ready to start Week 1 of the season
• took half a season – and three separate benchings of Kizer – to realize that having your rookie quarterback throw the ball 30-plus times a game is maybe not such a good idea
• mishandled the development of rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer in just about every way imaginable
• has overhauled almost his entire coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball, but yet couldn’t find a way to keep John DeFilippo
• wanted to trade a second- and a third-round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for A.J. McCarron, who is now set to be an unrestricted free agent
• has posted a record of 1-31 (because that cannot be stated enough)

Why, with everything that has gone on the past two years, would Dorsey let Jackson have an increased role in selecting a quarterback?

The worst part of the Browns latest rebuilding effort should be complete, and with a dozen draft picks, including five in the first two rounds, Dorsey has the opportunity to push the team forward on draft weekend in April.

He can do that by properly evaluating the available quarterbacks and select the player that will finally stabilize the position and help lead the Browns back to being a viable NFL franchise. The best way to accomplish that goal is to keep Jackson as far away from the process as possible.

Next: Trevor Siemian a cheaper alternative to A.J. McCarron?

Because we’ve all seen what happens when Jackson has input into the quarterback position and it is not pretty.