Looking back for just a moment here, one could see the Browns, during their 1-15 and 0-16 abysmal seasons, were not only in search of victories but also looking for some consistent direction. Accountability was apparently not one of Jackson’s strengths as a head coach, or so it would seem by what was happening on the sidelines.
One particular night game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson’s team was penalized for having too many men on the field before the game really got started.
Following the opening kickoff which the Bengals received, before the very first play from scrimmage could even unfold, the Browns were flagged for 12 on the field. How in the world does that happen, or better yet, how is that even possible at the professional football level?
The answer is simple-coaching, or a lack of it. That is coaching pure and simple, and the Browns sideline at times resembled a Chinese fire drill or the mass confusion one finds in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
Jackson also sent the wrong message to all of his players regarding that accountability factor, when after one of his defenders decided to taunt the opponent after making a key third down and short yardage stop, which resulted in a flag and the opposition being gifted a first down, Jackson let that very same defender guilty of such a ridiculous penalty stay on the field for the very next play.
That is beyond a lack of leadership and clearly failing to send the right culture message to your team that such undisciplined will not be tolerated.
Let’s now jump to the Pittsburgh game that took place just a couple of weeks ago, and the game that earned Jackson a pink slip. With just under two minutes to go and the Browns trailing by 21 points, I said to the person sitting next to me watching the game that if Jackson has quarterback Baker Mayfield drop back to pass, he should be fired right there on the field.
Mayfield, who has been running for his life all season behind a mediocre offensive line and very few skilled wide receivers to throw to, should never have been subjected to that, which could have resulted in a possible season-ending injury.
The Steelers were grinning from ear-to-ear with Mayfield back in the pocket surely looking for a chance to inflict some physical damage.
Jackson should never have taken that chance, and it was surely an opportunity for Dorsey who drafted Mayfield, to cringe watching a very unimportant passing attempt that late in the game down by that many points.
One can talk about not wanting to demonstrate a defeatist attitude, but at some point the head coach and offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who also packed his bags with Jackson, have to be smart about things.
The realization that winning this game is out of the question, and let’s not get the franchise player and quarterback hurt, should have been the thought process.
I mean, what is the difference losing by 14 points or 21 points? Did Jackson so foolishly believe that watching Mayfield throw a touchdown pass that late in the game during what many would call “garbage time” would somehow indicate progress?
Such a quality of progression is one that has hardly found this organization lately if anything; the Browns have been a consistent picture of regression. Of course, one can’t blame Jackson for everything in that he didn’t appear to be in complete harmony with the choices of former GM Sashi Brown or Ray Farmer, who would have been?
Still, in professional sports, the responsibility lies with the head coach, and Jackson was his own worst enemy for most of the time. Given time, Jackson said during one of his exit interviews, he would have turned this offense around.
Speaking of time, Gregg Williams, acting interim head coach and still defensive coordinator, may be on borrowed time in terms of calling the shots on the sidelines for nest season.
And it may be time, one can only hope, for Haslam to completely stay out of the head coaching search. It’s time he put that responsibility solely into the hands of Dorsey, the man he brought in to make such key football decisions. Will Haslam’s ego allow that to happen? Time will tell.
In Jackson’s case, most would agree that more than enough time was given in order to prove himself worthy of a head coaching assignment. But in the end, the numbers don’t lie, and according to hall of fame coach Bill Parcells, “you are what your record says you are.” Jackson losing 36 out of the 40 games he coached was in the end, too much wasted time.
Recent Comments