Thank you letter to former Browns coach Hue Jackson
Get back into coaching, Hue!
Now for some unsolicited advice.
Being bitter is not you, coach. You were always the positive force behind the team. So, having been in a situation where success was impossible and having tasted failure, are you going to stay bitter for the rest of your life?
What you are doing now is not healthy and it is making sure that no NFL owner will ever hire you again, even if all of your complaints are 100 percent true.
That doesn’t sound like the coach Jackson we knew, who was always optimistic no matter what.
Look, 99 percent of the coaches in the NFL get fired, and it is usually unfair and almost everyone lies. But the owners know they are going to fire you someday when they hire you, and they do not want trouble when your gig is over. You are a grown-up, so you should realize that it’s just not helpful to lash out even if the ownership totally deserves it.
For that matter, it is hard to know from the outside, but it doesn’t seem that Haslams hate you. They admit to making their share mistakes along the way, and in particular allowing Sashi Brown to go overboard in his rebuilding agenda.
The worst thing that they did to you was to try to help you by giving you a multimillion-dollar offensive coordinator in Todd Haley. This fan believes they put you in an untenable situation, but their intentions were to help, rather than hinder you, even if the results were the opposite.
Coach Jackson, you need to go back into coaching, at whatever level. Even if it’s Division III, you need to get back on a level playing field and do what you were born to do. Likely you won’t get a head coaching gig in the NFL anytime soon or even a decent coordinator’s job, because of the bad situation you found yourself in.
The bitter image you now have isn’t helping your employability, either. Baker Mayfield is never going to hug you. Jimmy Haslam III is never going to call a press conference to apologize to you. So be bitter if it pleases you, but really you need to get back into coaching, in this fan’s humble opinion.
You need to go back to the college ranks and find a situation where you can do what you love. You belong in a stadium, not necessarily with 100,000 fans, but with a group of fans who are passionate about their team, with players who are passionate about playing for you.
You still have the smarts and the offensive innovations that they will really groove on. You have been around the block a few times on defense and special teams, too.
Next. 20 most disappointing Browns QBs of all-time. dark
Young people turn their lives around by what they learn from playing football. You will make it happen for them. You are their leader. They are waiting for you. Go. Follow your calling.