A few days after being fired as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach in 2018, Hue Jackson posed with Mike Silver and two oversized sangria-filled glasses as a satirical statement on a disastrous professional endeavor. In this wide-ranging conversation about his otherwise impressive coaching career, Jackson talks about why he was destined to fail from the start in Cleveland, why he believes ownership viewed him as disposable and what he hopes to gain by speaking out. We also learn who helped stage the infamous sangria photo (hint: she co-hosts a podcast), how Jackson finally convinced Browns management to draft Myles Garrett and what he thinks of the Bears’ signing of Andy Dalton.
Beginning with the backstory behind the infamous sangria photo--in the immediate aftermath of his firing by the Browns--Jackson shares a barrage of previously unreported details about his ill-fated stint with the franchise. Following a one-and-done, 8-8 season as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach in 2011, Jackson had worked his way back to prominence as a highly regarded offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, only to accept the Browns’ job under false pretenses. He explains how he tried to fight back against management’s aggressive-tanking plan, took extreme measures to ensure the franchise selected Myles Garrett with the first overall pick of the 2017 draft and received a secret contract extension as an acknowledgment of his raw deal. We also talk agave rashes, Andy Dalton in Chicago, how he almost got the Cal job in 2012 and why he suspects that Baker Mayfield hates him, among other scintillating subjects.