AFC Notes: Hue Jackson, Browns, Ravens, Lamar Jackson

Browns

Former Browns HC Hue Jackson said there was $750,000 deposited into his checking account at the end of the season as part of a bonus structure that incentivized the team losing to gain better draft capital.

“It was a total of $750,000, but it was based on whatever those benchmarks you hit,” Jackson said, via Akron Beacon Journal. “What it was that you got every year from it, I really don’t know. Those things were directed right into your checking account.”

Jackson said that these bonuses were not tied to winning or player development.

“I think that bonus was for the group working together towards what this plan was that they had set out,” Jackson said.

Jackson said that he wasn’t aware of a bonus structure until about a month and a half after he was hired by the team.

“You really don’t know what it is until you’re in it,” Jackson said. “When you’re losing games like you are, it’s so easy to put it together when you start to look back it because here’s the losses and you’re still getting what is considered a bonus, right? People don’t get paid bonuses for losing. That makes no sense. It was presented to me as a bonus structure. This is part of the bonus of your contract. That didn’t make any sense because I’ve never seen one of those. I’ve been in football long enough to know that that was different, but I still didn’t understand what it was coming from. Later, it was described that this is something that they did at Pilot J Flying to keep all of the workers who worked together collaborative, working together, working for the same cause.”

The Browns denied Jackson’s accusations, claiming that there was a never a structure in place that incentivized losing.

“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated,” a team spokesperson said in a statement. “Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”

Jackson said he never accepted the bonus structure money, and offered to give the money back to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam in exchange for getting the team better players.

“No. When you say did I accept, no because I didn’t know exactly where this was all coming from until we’re in it. And when you say accept it, it’s like somebody hands you the money. Money just directly deposited into your account. Once I realized what this was, I went to Jimmy Haslam and said, ‘Jimmy, I’m not interested in bonus structure money. What I would hope you do is take the money, this extra money you’re paying me because you pay me good enough as your head coach, and go get us some football players so that we’ll have a better football team.‘”

Jackson said he hopes that people see a difference between the claims that he and former Dolphins HC Brian Flores are making.

“Brian says that he was offered $100,000 per [loss]. That’s not the way this was ever presented [to me],” Jackson said. “This was presented in a four-year plan structure of a bonus that’s supposed to be a bonus for what you do for work and those things —working together. That’s the way this was put together. When you look at it, like I said, it’s really interesting because all of the contents of it had all these different ways between coaching, executives that they could make money for if you hit on these marks, these particular benchmarks, and, to me, like I said, it didn’t make any sense. And I still don’t even understand what’s the formula, how did you figure this out, what made this work that said that you would earn this extra money, but that’s what was happening.”

Jackson said that most of his claims that he’s made to the NFL were ultimately dismissed.

“[The league] admitted that 95% of my claims, 95% of what I know, is detrimental to the National Football League,” Jackson said.

Jackson maintains that he did not willingly sign up for a rebuild.

“What minority coach, when there’s not many minority coaches in pro football, would take a team or take a job when he knows the team’s going to be taken down to the studs? That makes no sense,” he said. “You can’t win in the National Football League when you take a team down to the studs. So what am I saying? Again, I was not told these things. This is not what I was told when I took this job, and I wasn’t told that there was going to be a bonus structure. I was going to find out a month and a half into the job.”

Jackson argues that the Browns knew what they did was wrong, and pointed to the contract extension he signed in 2017 with the franchise as evidence.

“It was told to me, ‘Hue, I’m apologizing to you for what we did to you. I’m apologizing for putting you in this situation because we tried to do something that wasn’t right,‘” Jackson said. “My beef in this is you took a minority coach who was the offensive coach of the year when he left Cincinnati, you put him in a situation where he did not have a chance to be successful, you ruined his career, and we all think that’s OK. When I was in it, nobody wanted to listen.”

Ravens

Ravens HC John Harbaugh said DE Derek Wolfe, who missed the entire season, underwent hip labrum surgery but is expected to recover. 

“…So, ‘Wolfy’ had a hip labrum surgery. He got his labrum repaired in his hip. So, we’ll see how that goes. That’s another one that’s recoverable from,” said Harbaugh, via RavensWire. 

• Ravens GM Eric DeCosta commented on contract talks with QB Lamar Jackson, saying he has spoken to him five or six times about it over the past year: “I’ve always spoken to Lamar. It was made clear to me early on in the process that Lamar and I would work together. I’m very comfortable with the relationship I have with Lamar…This is an unusual negotiation because I’ve been dealing with the player. For me to talk about any specifics would be prohibitive. We’re working at Lamar’s pace. There’s a great line of communication. We will operate based on his urgency. That’s really where we stand. Nothing has changed. Lamar is a Pro Bowl quarterback. There’s a lot of upside with our offense and Lamar is a big part of that. He’s the right person to do it.” (Jeff Zrebiec)
• DeCosta noted that the team certainly has the chance to build through the draft and add nine players from the first four rounds: “We’ve never been a huge free agency team. Right player, right price as always. … We know we have nine picks in the first four rounds. We feel like all those nine picks will come from our top 80 players.” (Zrebiec)
• DeCosta said he is very comfortable with the receivers on the team when asked about WR Antonio Brown and added the team will likely pick up WR Marquise Brown‘s fifth-year option. (Zrebiec)
• When it comes to CB Marcus Peters, DeCosta expects that he will be back with the team in 2022: “I love Marcus (Peters). I talk to him all the time. Marcus is one of these guys that when he comes to the organization, provides such an authentic perspective. He’s a Raven. I would expect Marcus to be here.” (Zrebiec)
• DeCosta spoke about issues on the offensive line, such as being willing to make a move to get two linemen this offseason and the situation with T Ronnie Stanley: “It’s probably my mistake expecting that Ronnie Stanley would come back this year full strength. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. That was a big setback. But I’m optimistic about his rehab.” (Zrebiec)
• DeCosta commented on adding a pass-rusher in the draft, possibly with the 14th pick, but is also looking for dynamic defensive backs: “Our inability to create turnovers was probably an issue for us. If the opportunity presents itself and we see a dynamic corner or a dynamic safety, of course, that would be something that’s attractive to us.” (Zrebiec)
• After retiring, DB Anthony Levine Sr. attended the Senior Bowl to work with Ravens scouts. DeCosta said that he will have a role with both the front office and the coaching staff. (Zrebiec)
• DeCosta continues to support and praise HC John Harbaugh: “I don’t think there’s a better head coach in the National Football League. I couldn’t imagine any situation standing here today where I wouldn’t want to be with Coach Harbaugh for many years to come.” (Zrebiec)
• Some salary cap casualties for the Ravens this offseason could include T Alejandro Villanueva ($6 million), CB Tavon Young ($5.845 million), and WR Miles Boykin ($2.54 million). (Jamison Hensley)
• Ravens OLB coach Drew Wilkins was released from his contract in order to pursue a new opportunity with former DC Don “Wink” Martindale. (Jamison Hensley)