Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson is pushing back against reports that he was kept out of the loop and left livid by the team’s release of cornerback Joe Haden.
CBS Sports had reportedly Sunday that Jackson and other Browns coaches had been caught off guard and “irate” over the Browns’ decision to release Haden, but after the Browns’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson claimed that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“That did not come from me,” Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “I think you guys know me well enough that if I feel something, I am going to say it. I don’t run from that. Me and the executive team are working lockstep, hand-in-hand. I don’t know where that came from. I trust (Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Sashi (Brown) and I trust our executive team to make the right decisions for this football team.
“I stand behind that whole-heartedly. Never wanted to see Joe go, but at the same time, we made the decision as an organization. I totally stand behind it.”
Maybe Jackson was annoyed that Haden landed with Cleveland’s Week 1 opponent. Either way, it’s interesting that he felt it important to come out and deny this specific report.
