AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

Browns owner Jimmy Haslem criticized former HC Hue Jackson for never taking responsibility for the team’s shortcomings during his tenure as the team’s head coach.

“Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period,” Haslam said, via Knox News. “He’s been masterful at pointing fingers but has never accepted any blame. I have accepted a ton of blame, and rightfully so. There are a lot of things I could’ve done better. Hue has never accepted blame for one thing.”

Haslem strongly dismissed the accusations that Jackson was paid to lose games for the Browns in an effort to expedite a rebuilding process.

“Unequivocally, Hue Jackson was never paid to lose games,” Haslam said. “That is an absolute falsehood. And it’s also an absolute falsehood that I laughed while we were losing. Most people who know me would say, ‘That’s not how Jimmy would react to losing.’ In the 15-minute ESPN interview that he did, for approximately 14-and-a-half minutes it was about how he was treated so poorly with the Browns and lots of claims he had.”

Haslam notes the uptick in success the team had after the team dismissed Jackson.

“I can’t think of any individual that I’ve worked with over the past 45 years that I spent as much time trying to help be successful as I did Hue Jackson,” Haslam said. “His third year, when our roster began to pretty dramatically improve, the eight games he coached we were 2-5-1. After Hue was dismissed, we went 5-3.”

Haslam has said that his goal as the team’s owner has always been to win consistently.

“We’ve not done that, but we’re getting closer,” Haslam said. “(That goal) has been the same regardless of the coach.”

• Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports the Browns have “shown interest in” Memphis WR Calvin Austin III.
• Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett says the Browns were one of the first teams that he spoke with at the Senior Bowl. (Cabot)

Ravens

Ravens HC John Harbaugh is excited about the hiring of DC Mike Macdonald and his ability to relate to his players.

“I’m really happy and excited. It was a great process,” Harbaugh said, via Ravens Wire. “We talked about a lot of it on Monday, kind of the things we’ve been doing for the last three weeks. It’s been a whirlwind. It’s been the season into a season, really, for me. Mike [Macdonald] was playing in the playoffs just a couple weeks ago. So, it’s all this craziness going on, but it’s exciting, it’s fun [and] it gets your juices going. [The Baltimore Sun‘s] Childs’ [Walker] question was, ‘What did you see in the last year?’ And that kind of brings me to the point. It’s like, here is a coach that I knew was a really good football coach; I saw him every single day. I saw him with his guys. I knew how he related to his guys in the building, how he taught [and] how he helped build the defense. So, I knew how his mind worked – this is a really good football coach. Then you see him go off into a situation where they completely revamp a defense, really in about two weeks before you start spring ball, right?”

Steelers

Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett welcomes the possibility to be drafted by the Steelers.