NFL Rumors: Hue Jackson 'Floated' as Offensive Coordinator Candidate in 2019

Tim Daniels @TimDanielsBRFeatured ColumnistNovember 27, 2018

Cincinnati Bengals special assistant Hue Jackson works the field during practice before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Frank Victores)

Frank Victores/Associated Press

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson is reportedly being "floated" as a candidate to become an offensive coordinator for the 2019 season.

On Tuesday, Andy Benoit of Sports Illustrated reported Jackson is "highly respected by a certain sector of people within the NFL." The Cincinnati Bengals hired Jackson as a special assistant to head coach Marvin Lewis earlier this month after the Browns fired him in October.

Jackson posted a 3-36-1 record across two-plus seasons in Cleveland, including a winless campaign in 2017. He previously went 8-8 during a one-year stint as head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011.

The 53-year-old Los Angeles native owns more than three decades of coaching experience, including time as an NFL offensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins (2003), Atlanta Falcons (2007), Raiders (2010) and Bengals (2014-15).

His track record leading offenses at the pro level is modest, though. Only once in five years did one of his teams rank in the top 10 in total yardage (Raiders in 2010), and none of them ever ranked better than 15th in passing yards, a vital stat in the modern NFL, according to Pro Football Reference.

After Jackson was dismissed by the Browns, he said during an appearance on ESPN's First Take that he hoped to rebuild his coaching reputation in a coordinator role, via Pat McManamon of ESPN.com:

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"I hope the next opportunity for me is to go back and be a coordinator, first and foremost. Go back and put my name back to where it should be, among some of the best play-callers in this league, and then to move forward from there. And whatever happens from there, obviously that's going to be God's decision as we move forward."

Meanwhile, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported Sunday that Jackson is also a potential option to take over as the Bengals' head coach should Lewis retire or move into a front-office role after 2018.

So it appears Jackson remains in demand despite his lack of success with the Browns, which left him with the second-lowest winning percentage in history among qualified NFL head coaches.