BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson loves calling plays.
In fact, Jackson loves calling plays so much so that over his first two seasons with the Browns, he retained that duty along with holding the myriad of other responsibilities that come with being a head coach in the National Football League.
But with the Browns struggling to a 1-31 record over the last two seasons, Jackson gave up play-calling duties when offensive coordinator Todd Haley was added to the coaching staff.
“I've now taken on the CEO aspect of it,” Jackson said at a pre-training camp press conference Wednesday. “I kind of oversee it all and that was tough. I'm being very honest with you, when you have to step away from something you love doing.”
Although Jackson was reluctant to give up play-calling duties, he understands that the organization’s success is more important than personal goals and achievements.
“As I said earlier, it's not about personal wins for me anymore,” Jackson said. “I've done all that. It's about organizational wins. I brought Todd Haley here for a reason, to help this organization get to winning and, to me, when you look at it from that standpoint, I hope we all get it.”
With their New Year’s Eve loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns went winless in a 16-game season for the first time in franchise history, and their 17th consecutive loss overall dropped the organization to a league-worst 1-31 since the opening game of 2016.
Additionally, last season, the Browns set the record for the worst 28-game stretch in NFL history, as they “bested” the previous mark of 2-26 set by the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 1976-1977 seasons with a 1-27 mark that got four losses worse after Week 13.
“We have a lot of work to do, a ton of work to do, and I think we all get that,” Jackson said. “I think the players are very eager to get going. I want everybody, especially our fans, to see what our players do on a daily basis preparing, the hard work that goes into this for them so that we can go out and do what we need to do to be a better football team.
“Obviously, I know our fans want results, and that’s what we’re striving for. We’re here to win. As I’ve said before from the first day I got here, we’re here to win and we’re going to do everything we can to put a winning product on the field.”
Over the last four-plus years, the Browns have gone 4-49, and the record has not been much better since Dee and Jimmy Haslam officially purchased the team in October of 2012.
In five seasons under the Haslams’ majority ownership, the Browns have posted an NFL-worst 15-65 record. Factoring in the remaining games of the 2012 season after the sale was approved at an NFL Owners Meeting in Chicago, the Browns have gone 19-70.
Also, with Buffalo clinching a wildcard berth in the AFC last December, the Browns now have the longest-standing playoff drought in the NFL.
“This team is going to have to form its own identity, create its own legacy this year by how we work, how we practice,” Jackson said. “Like I said when I started, we have a lot of work to do ahead of us as a football staff and as a team, and I think we get that, but I think everybody, when I see our players walk in this building, they’re very eager and excited about putting all of the past behind us.”
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