Browns, Bengals both want Hue Jackson

Hue Jackson has hardly proven he is a good NFL head coach, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be wanted.

It’s hardly all his fault, but the Cleveland Browns’ 1-28 record over the last two seasons (entering Sunday) ultimately goes on the record of head coach Hue Jackson. Before the firing of front office lead man Sashi Brown, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam gave Jackson a measure of job security by saying the coach would be back next year. But new general manager John Dorsey may have different thoughts on the matter, if he’s allowed to make that decision on his own.

Marvin Lewis was on track to be done as Cincinnati Bengals head coach after this season, with a 5-8 record and a second straight losing season all but assured. But a report Sunday morning suggests he will get ahead of an official firing, and is set to move on.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has suggested Jackson may not survive a shakeup in Cleveland after all. But if he is fired by the Browns, Jackson also may not have to look far for a new job.

Jackson has deep ties to the Bengals. He served as wide receivers coach (2004-2006), defensive backs coach/special teams assistant (2012), running backs coach (2013) and offensive coordinator (2014-2015) under Lewis. He became a candidate for head coaching jobs based on his stint as offensive coordinator, during which he cultivated the best play of Andy Dalton’s career, and then landed with the Browns as they moved toward an analytics-driven front office structure.

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Including his one season with the Oakland Raiders (2011), Jackson is 9-36 as an NFL head coach. That suggests he’s best suited to be an assistant coach, or more specifically an offensive coordinator. But it may not matter to Bengals’ owner Mike Brown if he can avoid paying big bucks for a new head coach, and Jackson is of course available.