Cincinnati Bengals Desperately Tried To Keep Hue Jackson From Joining Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis attempted to convince good friend Hue Jackson from becoming the new Cleveland Browns head coach, according to ESPN Insider.

Since the Cincinnati Bengals were doing so well during the NFL regular season, the entire team knew that Hue Jackson wasn’t going to be their offensive coordinator for much longer.

That’s how things in the NFL work. Whenever your team and scheme are doing well, others will want a piece of that to see if they can use it to make their own team more successful.

As expected, Hue Jackson was one of the most coveted assistant coaches in the NFL. A horde of teams wanted to contact the former Oakland Raiders head coach to gauge his interest.

The San Francisco 49ers tried in vain to bring Hue Jackson on board to replace Jim Tomsula, who only lasted one season as a head coach in the NFL. Jackson wasn’t as interested.

After Tom Coughlin resigned as head coach, the New York Giants expressed interest in replacing him with Hue Jackson, but they have now focused their efforts on hiring Bob McAdoo.

The Cleveland Browns have long been searching for a permanent head coach, and they were really impressed with Hue Jackson. They were willing to offer him the world to sign him.

Upon hearing word that the Cleveland Browns were about to hire their talented offensive coordinator, Marvin Lewis came up with a last ditch plan to see if he could keep Hue Jackson.

Marvin Lewis laid out a plan where Hue Jackson would eventually replace him as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals when Lewis felt that it was time for him to step away.

While Hue Jackson would love the idea of staying with his players and expanding his offensive scheme, he knew that the time to make the jump was now because he is 50 years old.

The desire to become a head coach in the NFL was so strong for Hue Jackson that he was willing to sign with the Cleveland Browns, who aren’t exactly a desired coaching gig.

With the Cincinnati Bengals, Hue Jackson has one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Andy Dalton. With the Cleveland Browns, he would need to find himself someone to start.

Hue Jackson might also be without his two best offensive linemen, as offensive tackle Joe Thomas and center Alex Mack are both leaning towards finding a new home in the NFL soon.

Hue Jackson is taking quite a risk with his NFL career. Having lasted only one season as the Oakland Raiders head coach, many have questioned if he was worthy of any more chances.

If Hue Jackson were to fail with the Cleveland Cavaliers and become yet another one of their head coaches that lasts only two seasons, then people might be hesitant to hire him again.

The first couple of months next season are going to be the honeymoon period, with the Cleveland Browns fan base buying into the regime change and thinking this is finally the year.

Since he is a very well liked coach, many are hoping that Hue Jackson will indeed finally be the coach that the Cleveland Browns are searching for. They need him to turn things around.

If Hue Jackson can finally make a winner out of the Cleveland Browns, then he will be considered a legend.

[Featured Photo by Thearon W Henderson/Getty Images]