It was earlier this week that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam found himself as a star in the latest NFL scandal. Shortly after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its teams, former Browns head coach Hue Jackson seemed to imply that Haslam attempted to pay him to lose games during his disastrous tenure with the organization.
Jackson’s claims stem from another allegation from Flores levied in the direction of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross indicating that he was offered $100,000 for every loss during the 2019 season as a way to acquire the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft (Joe Burrow).
As for Jackson, the former Browns head coach took to social media to suggest that Haslam wanted to lose games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Apparently, Cleveland’s embattled owner is taking issue with this.
Related: Cleveland Browns strongly deny Hue Jackson allegations
Jimmy Haslam absolutely lays into Hue Jackson over allegations
“Unequivocally, Hue Jackson was never paid to lose games. That is an absolute falsehood. And it’s also an absolute falsehood that I laughed while we were losing. Most people who know me would say, ‘That’s not how Jimmy would react to losing.’”
Jimmy Haslam to Knox News (February 3, 2022)
Jackson posted a 3-36-1 record during his two-plus years as the Browns’ head coach from 2016-18. That included Cleveland going 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 the following season. He was fired eight games into the 2018 season after posting a 2-5-1 mark. Haslam touched on that firing, blasting Jackson’s coaching ability in the process.
“I can’t think of any individual that I’ve worked with over the past 45 years that I spent as much time trying to help be successful as I did Hue Jackson,” Haslam said. “His third year, when our roster began to pretty dramatically improve, the eight games he coached we were 2-5-1. After Hue was dismissed, we went 5-3.”
Haslam is not wrong here. Once Jackson was fired midway through the 2018 campaign, interim head coach Gregg Williams led the team to a 5-3 record. This represented Cleveland’s best finish since it made the playoffs back in 2007. Two years later, and the Browns earned that rare playoff appearance under current head coach Kevin Stefanski.
As for Haslam’s comments, we was in no way done. The owner absolutely blasted Jackson on a personal level, too.
“Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period. He’s been masterful at pointing fingers but has never accepted any blame. I have accepted a ton of blame, and rightfully so,” the owner said. “There are a lot of things I could’ve done better. Hue has never accepted blame for one thing.”
Spicy. Tell us how you really feel, Mr. Haslam.
Somehow, we don’t think Hue Jackson and Jimmy Haslam will be getting together any time soon over biscuits and tea. That’s for sure.