Cleveland Browns: Gregg Williams shows class with his goodbye

Gregg Williams ended up being a great interim coach for the Cleveland Browns and he remained incredibly classy even after being let go on Wednesday

There’s a reason that fans — and players — were disgusted with Hue Jackson following his tenure. Yes, the former Cleveland Browns head coach lost a whole lot of games, but that wasn’t what made people lose respect for him. It was the way he handled the losses and the way he handled his departure.

After being fired by the Browns, Jackson went on an unprecedented media run and took his parting shot at everyone he could (which was unsurprising as he did the same after every loss). Jackson’s main goal was self-preservation as he wanted to secure a job for himself down the road ‚— which happened as his buddy Marvin Lewis brought him on staff.

Jackson joined the Bengals and then players from the Browns went out of their way to embarrass him and Baker Mayfield even called him fake. It’s a safe bet the some won’t happen for Gregg Williams should Cleveland face him down the road as the recently released interim head coach left Berea with his head held high and even had a classy message of thanks for his time with the team.

Williams seemed like a long shot to ever win the head coaching job in Cleveland, but he made sure people saw him as a worthy candidate down the road. He took over a 2-5-1 franchise and win five-of-eight games. They ended up 7-8-1 and the NFL once again saw how powerful the franchise can be when they’re winning.

The players responded well to Williams’ bravado and he also resonated with the fans who appreciated his work ethic, humor, and honesty during his tenure.

Gregg Williams was exactly what the 2018 Cleveland Browns needed. It will be hard to see him go, and the class he showed in his goodbye is one of the many reasons why that is.

Thank you for a great second half of the season Gregg, you will be missed. And good luck in your future endeavors.