Cleveland Browns: Hue Jackson’s clock management was worst in 2017
By Dan Justik
Hue Jackson has had a lot of problems as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and clock management was one of those problems last season.
A lot of factors go into why the Cleveland Browns only have one win the last two seasons. Most of the blame has gone towards two people: Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson. The former was already fired, while Jackson managed to keep his job over the off-season.
There have been many reasons that people have pointed out as to why Cleveland should have moved on from Jackson this off-season. Well, they now have more ammo for that.
HeadCoachRanking.com rated every head coach in the NFL based on how well they managed the clock last season. The grades are based on a scale of 0-10. Jackson came in dead last of all the head coaches as he received a grade of 5.4. Marvin Lewis and Chuck Pagano had the next closest grade of 6.1. Bill Belichick had the best grade with a 8.5 rating. The website described what they used to determine each coach’s grade.
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"The use of time outs, play clock management and tempo changes – particularly on offense – are critical to proper game management technique by head coaches. These decisions can directly impact winning and losing, and we grade how well each coach performs in this area."
Since Jackson became the Browns head coach, he was also calling plays as the offensive coordinator. Not only did he have to worry about calling plays, but he also needed to focus on every aspect of the team.
Based on Jackson’s clock management grade, it is fair to say he may have been overwhelmed trying to manage the team while also calling plays.
Jackson will look to change that this season. During the off-season, Jackson wanted to hire an experienced offensive coordinator to take over play-calling duties. He did just that by hiring Todd Haley after the Steelers did not give him a new contract at the end of the season.
With Haley calling the plays, it will be easier for Jackson to manage the games and not have simple mistakes hurt the team.
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It will likely take the Browns winning some games early in the season for Jackson to hold onto his job. But him handing over the play-calling duties to be able to properly manage games will be a step in the right direction for Jackson.