There may be some company in the Dolphin tank.

Former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson said he, too, was incentivized to lose, all part of a “four-year plan,” that led to his 1-31 record during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Jackson said that bonus money was his if certain “incentives”—aggregate rankings, being the youngest team, having an abundance of draft picks, etc.—were met.

“Teams that win are just not the youngest team, not that the youngest teams can’t win, so I didn’t understand the process,” Jackson said. “I didn’t understand what the plan was, I asked for clarity because it did not talk about winning and losing until Year 3 and 4. So that told you right there that something wasn’t correct, but I still couldn’t understand it until I had the team that I had.”

Jackson said he eschewed the plan to team owner Jimmy Haslam and instead wanted the extra dough to improve the team.

“And I remember very candidly saying to Jimmy, ‘I’m not interested in bonus money,’ because I’ve never known that to be a bonus,” he said. “I was interested in taking whatever that money was and putting it toward getting more players on our football team because I didn’t think we were very talented at all. I know what good football teams look like, play like, what they act like, and we didn’t have a lot of talented players on the team at that time.

“I do know that no head coach is going to survive if you lose a lot of games.”

Jackson and others implied on social media following the Brian Flores story breaking that he had been paid to lose games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. One tweet says “we have records that will help” Flores’ case.

So…yeah.

A Browns’ spokesperson called the allegations “completely fabricated” and said that “any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”

Jackson said he’s mentioned this Browns’ situation to the league and commissioner Roger Goodell—“so this is not new.”

“I went to arbitration in this case against the Browns where I didn’t win anything,” Jackson said. “People don’t understand that I tried to sound this alarm.”

He said he “wasn’t offered $100,000 for every game, but there was a substantial amount of money made within what happened in this situation every year at the end of it.”

He adds that he can “prove anything and everything that I’m saying. The National Football League knows I can prove anything and everything I’m saying. And I don’t run from that … If they feel like I’m being dishonest, call me on it, let’s sit down in front of everybody and put it out all there and see who’s telling the truth.

“I’m not afraid to stand behind Brian when it comes to anything, because I know what our men go through, and I don’t want this for the men that come behind me, at all.”

Jackson was fired by Cleveland midway through the 2019 season; he was hired to be Grambling State’s head coach in December.

The Browns‘ catastrophic roller coaster of a season is finally over and Freddie Kitchens is out as head coach. In the postgame press conference the first year head coach sounded confident he would return next season and told the media, “We’ve got meetings scheduled through next week, and I’m looking forward to going to work tomorrow. They have not given me any indication of anything else. Mr. Jimmy and Dee, I think they want me to do my job, and that’s what I’m gonna do — until they tell me not to, if they tell me not to.”

Unfortunately for Kitchens that wasn’t the case. When the team’s jet landed in Cleveland following an inexcusable 33-23 loss to the 2-14 Bengals, owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager John Dorsey spoke with Kitchens at the team’s practice facility firing him after his first full season as head coach. The former understudy of Bill Parcells finished the season with a 6-10 record.

According to a team source, Jimmy and fellow owner Dee Haslam announced the decision while they were still in a meeting with Kitchens. “We thank Freddie for his hard work and commitment to this organization but did not see the success or opportunities for improvement to move forward with him as our head coach. Our focus is on hiring an exceptional leader for this football team and we will take a comprehensive approach to this process. We are excited about the core players we have to build around and develop and we look forward to bringing in a strong head coach that will put this group of players in the best position to succeed,” the Haslams said.

Since buying the team in 2012, the Haslams have now gone through six head coaches, including interims. In the last 20 years the franchise has had 12 different head coaches and terrible leadership. The last time Cleveland made the playoffs was in 2002.

Kitchens started his career with the Browns as a running back’s coach in 2018 before taking over for fired coach Hue Jackson last season. Kitchens went 5-3 in 2018 and was praised for helping Baker Mayfield break the rookie record for touchdown passes with 27.

However, the success didn’t last. There were too many distractions on and off the field including the infamous altercation between defensive end Myles Garrett and Steelers’ quarterback Mason Rudolph. Going into their second matchup of the season after Garrett was suspended for ripping off Rudolph’s helmet and striking him with it, Kitchens was seen wearing a t-shirt that read “Pittsburgh started it.” It was an immature act and just sums up what Cleveland is known for, dysfunction.

With high expectations going into the season Kitchens was unable to get the offense going and failed to keep Mayfield out of harm’s way. The second year quarterback finished with 21 interceptions and the offense ranked 22nd in efficiency, according to NFL Stats.

Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Browns have requested permission to meet with Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Ravens’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman. If Cleveland can hire either of those guys it will surely be an upgrade over Kitchens.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

The Cincinnati Bengals hired Hue Jackson on Tuesday morning as special assistant to head coach Marvin Lewis. 

Ex-Browns coach Hue Jackson joins bengals

Jackson recently ended a record-breaking stretch, holding a head coaching job for two and a half years while going 3-36-1. During his time, he led the Cleveland Browns to the last place in the NFL in points scored, second to last place in points allowed, and last place in wins percentage.  He’s also the only coach to go 0-14 twice.

When Jackson was offered the Browns job, he had a reputation as a “self-promoter” and as an “offensive guru”.  However, as the time passed, he removed himself from game planning and the offensive installs. At the start of his last season, the offensive play-calling was given to offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Eventually, that became a source of conflict, with Jackson trying to reinsert himself into the offense once some success, albeit small, was gained. That caused a disconnect and frustrated both players and coaches.

Finally, the Browns moved on from Jackson and Haley. Jackson went to the front office to fire Haley, who he brought onto the team, and instead, the front office fired the both of them. Jackson proceeded to go on a media tour where he blamed everyone but himself for the lack of success during his tenure with the Browns.

Now, Hue Jackson is being brought into Cincinnati as a special assistant to the head coach. Lewis, who calls Jackson his brother and has a weekly phone call with him, says Jackson, the offensive guru, will “work with the defense”. In their last game, the Bengals allowed Drew Brees to score more touchdowns than throw incompletions and he led his team to 51 points.

Before Cleveland, Jackson worked as a wide receivers coach under Lewis from 2004 to 2006. He bounced around the league until 2011, before returning to the Bengals as a secondary assistant and special teams coach. He worked his way up to running backs coach and offensive coordinator before moving to Cleveland. The Bengals play the Browns twice before the season ends. Cincinnati can only hope Jackson can slow down the Browns as much as he did when he was their coach.

The Cleveland Browns have fired head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Hue Jackson Dismissed by Browns After 2-5-1 Season Start

The move comes after a 2-5-1 start to the 2018 season, which saw multiple stumbles and devastating losses for the franchise, and an incomprehensible three wins in over two seasons under the regime. Jackson’s 3-36-1 record with the Browns is the worst head-coaching record for one team in NFL history. He never won a game on the road, as the Browns were 0-20 during Jackson’s tenure, the worst road record by any coach with a single team in the Super Bowl era.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been named the interim coach in the meantime. The second-year coach with the team has seen relative success: the Browns have improved significantly on defense and are first in the league in takeaways in 2018 with 22. He’s a longtime NFL coach with years of defensive experience, but is most notable for his involvement in “Bounty-gate,” which involved Saints players being paid for hits that injured opponents. Williams would be suspended for an entire season, the longest in league history.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Freddie Kitchens will serve as defensive coordinator in Williams’ place.

Jackson joins Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who was fired after a winless (0-6) start to the 2018 season, leaving two voids at the heads of Cleveland sports — and in the hearts of Cleveland fans — again.

Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson and his team will have the opportunity to take a look at several NFL draft prospects all week ahead of this Saturday’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

Browns Considering Draft Prospects Beyond Deshaun Watson, Myles Garrett

Two of college football’s top prospects, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett (both juniors), will not attend the showcase game for senior NFL prospects. Watson turned down the invitation and Garrett is ineligible. They seem to be the most likely candidates for that top pick.

Jackson and his staff are coaching the South team for Saturday’s game, which gives them a chance to analyze that batch of prospects for three days of practice plus meetings.

”To be able to put your hands on the players and coach them and push them through things is a lot different than sitting up there and seeing things kind of third-hand,” he said. ”Sometimes you can’t see. You can’t see everything. Down here you can really focus on things and see them pretty clear about what a guy’s trying to do and what he’s trying to accomplish.”

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam also traveled to Mobile this week.

Cleveland is attempting to bounce back from a 1-15 season. Their lone victory came on Week 15 at home against the San Diego (now-Los Angeles) Chargers. The Browns had the 31st-ranked scoring offense and the 30th-ranked scoring defense so they will surely take all the help they can get in terms of draft picks.

Cleveland picks first, 12th and 33rd in this year’s draft, which is scheduled to be held April 27-29 in Philadelphia.

Jackson obviously isn’t dropping any clues regarding who his team’s top choices are, but was asked whether it’s more important to select the best player or the most valuable.

”I think you have to go through it: What’s the best? Who is the best player?” Jackson said. ”We haven’t determined that. Is the best player a defensive end, is it a quarterback, is it a defensive back? I don’t know that.

”We all know a quarterback is very important to our football team, but is he the best player? We’ve got to find that out. We need to put one on our team. We’re going to find one, I promise you that.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney also commented while attending Tuesday’s practice.

”I’m just telling you if they pass on Deshaun Watson, they’re passing on Michael Jordan,” Swinney told reporters.

No surprise Swinney would have such high praise for his quarterback, especially after the Tigers just won the national championship over Alabama earlier this month.

John Fox and the Chicago Bears staff will be leading the North team on Saturday. Chicago will also hope to assess their own potential draft picks.

”I think it’s a huge leg up as far as getting to know guys and how they respond,” Fox said.

 TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 09: Quarterback Deshaun Watson #4 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates after throwing a 2-yard game-winning touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game 35-31 at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

After yet another disappointing season, the Cleveland Browns have named Hue Jackson their next head coach, hoping he can turn things around.

Jackson most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals. He previously was the Oakland Raiders’ head coach for one season and has held various coaching positions on the offensive side of the ball.

His first major hurdle as Browns head coach is deciding on a quarterback. Cleveland holds the second-overall pick in the upcoming draft, but most analysts question whether any available quarterbacks are good enough to be selected there. Also, as any Browns fan can tell you, the team doesn’t exactly have a great track record drafting quarterbacks.

The elephant in the room is Johnny Manziel, who theoretically has the talent, if not the character to succeed in the NFL. “I need to get in this building and have an opportunity to sit down and watch tape,” Jackson said at his introductory press conference. “I don’t know Johnny personally. I know who he is.”

There is speculation, however, that Jackson has already decided to move on from Manziel. He has always worked with more traditional pocket passers, which is the opposite of Manziel’s game.

Regardless of who he selects to be under center, Jackson will have his work cut out for him. He’s ready for the challenge, however.

“If I didn’t think that we had a chance to do something special here, then I wouldn’t be here,” Jackson said. “There is no questions about that. I cannot thank [owners] Jimmy and Dee [Haslam] enough for this opportunity because those two people are driven to success. I said this to Jimmy the other day that he has had success in doing most things that he has done.”

Photo: Oakland Raiders head coach Hue Jackson looks on during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on December 4, 2011 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)