The NFL cleared the Browns of former coach Hue Jackson’s allegations that the team tanked during the 2016 and ’17 seasons. GGramling_SI and ConorOrr reviewed hundreds of pages of documents related to Jackson’s case and found that major questions remain:
Jackson’s haphazard claims in the immediate aftermath of the news of Flores’s lawsuit caused many to see him as an unreliable narrator—and, to be certain, his time in Cleveland was far more complicated, his case far more nuanced, than the one his lawyer prepared.
This table from the Browns' Four Year Plan lists percentages bonus that Jackson could earn as coach. Jackson argues that the arrangement was in violation of Section 9.1, which prohibits any team personnel from attempting “to illegally influence the outcome of the [team] or fail to suspend immediately any officer or player or other employee of the [team] who shall be proven guilty of offering, agreeing, conspiring, or attempting to influence the outcome of any game[...]”
The NFL did not respond to questions as to why it found Jackson's draft-capital and salary-cap bonus incentives acceptable, nor whether it would approve of other teams offering similar inducements. Jackson’s agent, John Thornton, declined comment for this story. It is unclear how much consideration Jackson gave to the table as he prepared for his first season in Cleveland, or whether he realized what the consequences would be.
Browns owner Haslam with the former top Browns executive Brown, who is now team president of the Ravens. This is how Jackson’s arrangement with the Browns played out in practice. The team spent more aggressively in the 2017 offseason, signing guard Kevin Zeitler, center JC Tretter and wide receiver Kenny Britt to multi-year deals, and re-signing Jamie Collins to a multi-year extension. But they also parted ways with two defensive team captains. Demario Davis was traded to the Jets for safety Calvin Pryor, who was released after a fight with a teammate before ever playing a regular-season game for Cleveland.
Of the 2016 and ’17 teams, one veteran league exec says, “Those were the worst rosters I’ve ever seen in this league. If you set out to intentionally lose games, it would look like that.” For those who work at the highest levels of professional football, the problem with tanking begins with the fact that the price is paid almost entirely by the coaches and players, for whom the decision to tank is out of their control. Among the anti-labor issues, player safety is a problem when a team is rife with players who don’t perform at the NFL level.
“Every coach wants to make it to the NFL, and that was my chance,” Delgado says. “I’m realistic; I’m not going to get back into the league.” According to internal Browns organizational documents, Jackson had virtually no role in making personnel decisions. But multiple people interviewed for this piece depict Jackson as a coach with finesse who, despite all the friction within the organization, was able to win some major personnel disagreements. With the roster in shambles and the team reeling after a 1–15 season, Jackson scored a major victory heading into the ’17 draft.
At the end of every season, the NFL asks each team’s owner, team president, general manager and head coach to sign an “Integrity of the Game Certification.” Jackson refused to sign. Jackson’s complaint also highlights a barrage of criticism from Mayfield. After a victory over the Bengals, who then employed Jackson, Mayfield had an icy postgame exchange with his former coach, which he said was because Jackson joined a division rival. He referred to Jackson as “fake” in an Instagram comment.
Harvey also recognized the economic advantage the Browns held over Jackson but deemed the release agreement valid. The exhibits that pre-dated Jackson’s release—the crux of Jackson’s tanking allegations, and presumably at the center of the NFL’s current investigation—were barred. Jackson’s arbitration case was fully dismissed.
Jackson spent two years out of work—according to a source close to him, broadcasters also told Jackson he was viewed as damaged goods—and hasn’t coached above the FCS college level since. He got back into coaching last season, hired as the offensive coordinator for Eddie George, the Titans legend, at Tennessee State. Last December, Jackson accepted the head coaching job at Grambling.
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