Things were obviously boiling over in Cleveland before the Browns’ decision to fire head coach Hue Jackson on Monday. We’ve read the reports of a questionable relationship between Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
Losing two games in overtime and being forced into a tie didn’t help matters behind the scenes. Such is the nature of the beast for a team that won three of Jackson’s 40 games as head coach.
Now comes this report that rookie No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield is seemingly happy his now-former head coach got canned. In fact, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport notes that “Mayfield is not going to exactly miss Hue Jackson.”
.@RapSheet on NFL Network just now: "From what I hear, Baker Mayfield is not going to exactly miss Hue Jackson" #Browns
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) October 29, 2018
Outside of their poor record and inability to win close games, this could be one of the primary reasons Jackson was fired. He struggled handling then-rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer last season and seemingly didn’t have a great relationship with the future face of the Browns’ franchise.
That type of toxic relationship just can’t continue for a team that has proven itself to be more competitive this season than at any point over the past decade.
Mayfield himself was known as a volatile personality at Oklahoma. Sure he’s been more tight-lipped as a rookie with the Browns, but said personality seemingly clashed with Jackson on the sideline.
The reigning Heisman winner is completing 58.3 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and six interceptions on the season. He’s probably better off moving forward this year without Jackson in his ear.