CLEVELAND — Former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson continues to wrestle publicly with his legacy in Cleveland, telling Sports Illustrated that he "failed tremendously."
Last month, Jackson told a Charlotte radio show that he probably did some of the best coaching when he was in Cleveland. But in a piece now available on SI.com he said: “I failed tremendously, regardless of how you look at it.”
More from the article:
“I’m not a loser,” he says. “So that bothers me. I’m not built that way. I hate losing, and it hurt every day. It ground me down every freakin’ week.”
He pauses, his face twisted in an involuntary grimace. It still hurts. “Let’s be honest. Right now, that’s what’s on my tombstone.”
Jackson's record as head coach of the Cleveland Browns was 3-36-1.
The article lays out the heartbreaking series of hardships the coach has had to overcome throughout his life. This is a guy who's done his share of suffering, and no matter what you think of him as a coach, his persistence is admirable.
His latest heartbreak: being shunned by the game he loves. The interview itself, no doubt, is meant as a signal that Jackson wants back in.
RELATED: Report: Former Browns coach Hue Jackson says he did some of his best coaching in Cleveland
