Hue Jackson Says the Browns Lied to Him About Rebuilding: 'I Became The Fall Guy'

In a radio interview, Jackson also says he doesn't understand why Baker Mayfield dislikes him.

In a radio interview on The Really Big Show on ESPN 850, former Browns coach Hue Jackson claims he was lied to about his former team's plans to rebuild. 

Jackson was fired in 2018 after a 2-5-1 start to the season. He said the teardown of the Browns roster at the time was not discussed with him.

"There’s no doubt I was lied to by ownership and leadership of the team,’' Jackson said. “They were going to be football plus analytics, but it was football vs. analytics.’'

"I think I became the fall guy because that was the narrative ... the truth needs to come out ... for other minority coaches. They need to know the pitfalls out there. My story has affected some of their futures."

Jackson is writing a book on his two and a half seasons with the Browns, where he went 3-36-1. The book is expected to be released later this year. No title or specific date was shared.

In his first season with the Browns, Jackson went 0–16 but said that halfway through the 2017 season he was offered a contract extension. The deal was reportedly for one year and would have gone through the 2020 season, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. 

“I got a contract extension at 1–23, midway through the season," Jackson said. “I wanted to go public with it, but the Browns didn’t."

In his latest interview, Jackson also touched on some contentious relationships he had in Cleveland — like with quarterback Baker Mayfield.

"To this day, I'll never understand it," Jackson said on Mayfield disliking him. "I was part of the reason he was the No. 1 pick. I didn't spend a lot of time with Baker—we had a QB coach and coordinator."

Jackson was last a special assistant coach for the Bengals but was released in January 2019.