BEREA, Ohio -- Despite a 1-27 record in the last two years, the Cleveland Browns remained committed to coach Hue Jackson even after they opted to part ways with former executive vice president of football operations, Sashi Brown, and sign new general manager John Dorsey on Thursday.
And when owner Jimmy Haslam held an introductory press conference for Dorsey at the Browns’ headquarters in Berea, he doubled down on the support of Jackson.
“I think it would be a mistake to just zero in on ’18,” Haslam said. “We are planning on Hue Jackson being our football coach for a long time and he and John working closely together for a long time.”
In Jackson’s tenure as head coach, the Browns have struggled to win games at an historical level.
The Browns have not won on a Sunday afternoon since December 13, 2015. The 29 straight Sunday losses are an NFL record, and their 4-45 mark in the last 49 outings is the worst in the league in that four-year span.
Additionally, the Browns’ 1-27 mark is the worst in league history over a 28-game stretch, beating the previous mark of 2-26 set by the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1976-1977 seasons.
“I know there have been comments about Hue’s record,” Haslam said. “I wouldn’t call that just Hue’s record. I think that record is on all of us, including ownership. We have had the ability to watch Hue up close.
“The NFL is a long season. It starts in late July and goes through early January. Hopefully, ours will start to extend longer than that. It starts hot and ends up very cold. We have not always played well, but I think everyone would agree, we have always played hard.”
Although the Browns have struggled under Jackson’s guidance, the Browns have seen an ability to keep a team motivated despite the challenges of being the last winless team in each of the last two years.
“Hue has kept the team playing hard and kept the players motivated,” Haslam said. “I’m really excited to see what John and Hue can do working together -- really excited.”
While Jackson and Dorsey have not yet worked together to build a franchise, Haslam believes the combination will bring the Browns success because of similar personality traits.
“I just want to assure you that having worked with Hue for the last couple of years, and then, spending a lot of time with John the last five or six weeks, I think their backgrounds are similar,” Haslam said. “They are football lifers, particularly NFL lifers.
“Philosophically, they line up if not identically, almost identically. Personality-wise, they share a lot -- both extroverted, high-energy individuals. It is our expectations that they will form a great team and help turn this franchise around. They talked several times yesterday and have already had a meeting today. Hue, John and I will spend time this afternoon. We are excited to see them work together.”
