Hue Jackson Suggests Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Paid Him Extra for Losses as HC

Amid allegations from Brian Flores that he was offered financial incentives from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to lose games, former NFL head coach Hue Jackson has suggested he was paid extra money to lose games during his tenure with the Cleveland Browns. 

Jackson wrote on Twitter that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was "happy while we kept losing" and had this response to a fan comment about how much he may have been paid for each loss:

After Jackson's comments, the Browns issues a statement in response, via Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports:

Per a lawsuit filed against the NFL and all 32 teams on Tuesday, Flores alleged Ross offered to give him $100,000 for each loss during the 2019 season to improve Miami's draft position. 

Jackson spent three seasons as Browns head coach from 2016 to 2018. He went 3-36-1 overall before getting fired on Oct. 29, 2018. 

Across Jackson's first two seasons, Cleveland posted a 1-31 record. The Browns went 0-16 in 2017, making them the second team in NFL history to go winless in a 16-game season (2008 Detroit Lions).

Per Pro-Football-Reference.com, Jackson's .205 winning percentage as a head coach is the second-worst mark in NFL history (minimum: 50 games). His record also includes an 8-8 season with the Oakland Raiders in 2011. 

Appearing on ESPN 850 (h/t Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com) last May, Jackson said he "was lied to by ownership and leadership of the team" about the direction of their rebuild. 

"They were going to be football plus analytics, but it was football vs. analytics," Jackson explained. "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 said in the same interview the Browns even gave him a contract extension midway through the 2017 season but didn't want to make it public. Cabot noted it was a one-year extension that ran through 2020. 

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams took over for Jackson on an interim basis midway through the 2018 season. Freddie Kitchens was named the full-time head coach in January 2019. 

After a 6-10 record in 2019, Kitchens was fired and replaced by Kevin Stefanski. 

Jackson spent the 2021 season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee State. He was named head football coach at Grambling State on Dec. 10.