The fifty-year-old Jackson ran one of the league's better offenses in Cincinnati, but the intriguing part to me is how he got the best of what one could say is pretty pedestrian talent.
Andy Dalton performed better on Jackson's watch than he ever did under Jay Gruden, Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard are above average backs, but neither are great and with the exception of A.J.Green, the Bengals receiving corps were nothing to excite as talent goes either.
Jackson used Tyler Eifert excellently at tight end ,which brought to mind why Eifert was a first rounder at one time with an excellent season and the Bengals did not have anywhere near the issues as far as the crazy headcases go with Jackson's offense as they did on the defense.
Combine those with the inside knowledge of the AFC North that Jackson's possesses and those reasons alone make Hue Jackson a strong hire.
However, the main reason that I had Jackson tabbed as my top choice had nothing to do with his time in Cincinnati-it was his one year as a head coach in Oakland.
Now, some may think-why the excitement about a guy that lasted just one year in Oakland and hadn't been a head man since?
Well, that year (2011) saw Jackson go 8-8, which ordinarily wouldn't excite you until you realize dealing with Al Davis, the constant crazy personnel moves that always occur in Oakland and the less than strong roster, makes you think that was a pretty decent job for a first-year coach.
The 2011 Raiders used three different starting QB's and still wound up at .500 with an 11th in the league passing offense, which even more impressive with a starting wide receiver pairing of Darius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore.
So I'm pretty comfortable with Jackson as an offensive mind and as a coach with the ability to get the best out of the talent that is far from elite.
The biggest worry that I have about Hue Jackson is how he left Oakland after one pretty good season, all things considered, is this-Jackson got into a political battle with general manager Reggie McKenzie for the football control and Jackson lost the battle.
If Jackson and/or the eventual general manager decide to flex their muscle for more control against the analytics dept or especially Sashi Brown for roster control-could Jackson be in the middle of another power struggle?
Maybe, but let's not put the cart before the horse-building the roster and winning games with the roster that the team as in place will take time, so that battle (If it ever should occur) is down the road a bit.
For now, the Browns certainly got the man that I thought fit their needs best in Hue Jackson.
The hard part begins now.....
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