Baker Mayfield rips into fake Hue Jackson following Browns win vs. Bengals

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield isn’t ready to forgive former coach Hue Jackson for jumping to rival Cincinnati.

There is no love lost between Baker Mayfield and his former coach Hue Jackson.

Mayfield had a career day on Sunday against Cincinnati, but even that couldn’t get him to make amends with Jackson who is now an assistant with the rival Cincinnati Bengals. Mayfield, after throwing for a career-best four touchdowns in Cleveland’s 35-20 win against the Bengals, exchanged a quick handshake with Jackson following the game but few words.

“He said, ‘good job, good game.’ It was brief,” Mayfield said afterward, via the Browns official website. “Didn’t feel like talking.”

Jackson was fired as Browns coach after a Week 8 loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 28. He went 3-36-1 in parts of three seasons in Cleveland. Just two weeks after being let go, he signed with AFC North-rival Cincinnati as an assistant to head coach Marvin Lewis. Jackson previously served as Bengals offensive coordinator from 2014-2015.

The tense situation between quarterback and former coach didn’t disappear on Monday. Former NFL player Damien Woody criticized Mayfield on ESPN’s First Take, saying the rookie needed to “grow up.”

“You’re dealing with grown men. Things happen in pro football. You can get fired, go to other teams,” Woody said.

Woody also pointed out that Mayfield, a walk-on at Texas Tech, transferred to another Big 12 school, Oklahoma. Mayfield, however, quickly responded to Woody with a comment posted on First Take’s Instagram page.

“Not even comparable…I didn’t lose 30+ games be fake and then do that…I wasn’t gonna have a scholarship. Good try though buddy,” Mayfield wrote.

Mayfield wasn’t the only Browns player to interact with Jackson on Sunday. Safety Damarious Randall, after intercepting a pass from Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the second quarter, handed the ball to Jackson on the Bengals sideline.

The controversy surrounding his relationship with Jackson overshadowed an otherwise solid day for the 2018 first overall pick. Mayfield threw for 258 yards against Cincinnati in addition to his four touchdowns, becoming the first rookie quarterback in NFL history with a 140 passer rating in consecutive games.

Mayfield has thrown for 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns since taking over the Browns starting job from Tyrod Taylor in Week 4. The Browns improved to 4-6-1 on the season and are three games back of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.