This story has been updated from a previous version.
Former Browns coach Hue Jackson on Wednesday suggested team owner Jimmy Haslam paid him to lose. That revelation follows former Miami coach Brian Flores alleging Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 for every game the team lost during the 2019 season.
Jackson suggested Haslam paid him to lose in reply to another tweet that joked Jackson would be on the Forbes list if he had been paid for every loss the team suffered during his tenure (he went 3-31-1 in two-plus seasons).
Trust me it was a good number!
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
MORE: Brian Flores lawsuit, explained
Jackson never fielded a winning team in Cleveland, going 1-15 and 0-16 in 2016 and '17, respectively. The team went 2-5-1 in 2018 before Haslam fired him midway through the season. The Browns had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 and '18 NFL drafts, which they used to select Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield, respectively.
Jackson, who currently coaches at Grambling, further tweeted he "can back up every word I'm saying." That assertion came in reply to another tweet from Kimberly Diemert, the executive director of Jackson's foundation, who claimed to have evidence Haslam wanted Jackson to tank in 2016 and '17:
I stand with Brian Flores. I can back up every word i’m saying.
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
MORE: NFL responds to Brian Flores lawsuit, defends hiring practices
Jackson also claims that he wasn't "silent" about the practice during those years, only that no one was willing to listen to him. He also responded to criticism that he should have used that money to field better teams, saying, "I just get tired of watch my brothers get played, and you people believe the narratives."
Not bitter at all. Doing well. I just get tired of watch my brothers get played, and you people believe the narratives. Stop with that. Go seek the truth then. If what i’m saying is a lie, prove me as a liar and bitter. Bet you they say NO COMMENT!
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
Jackson replied to several tweets criticizing him or otherwise expressing doubts about his telling of events. Among those was a challenge to look into some NFL owners, who "you better dig deeper and see the truth."
Dude if you knew the truth you would swallow everything in your mouth. Enough. Truth just starting to seep out of what really happens in the NFL. Trust me there are some great owners out there and there are some people you better dig deeper and see the truth.
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
MORE: Brian Flores says Stephen Ross' $100K-per-loss proposal was reason for his Dolphins firing
Update: The Browns have since issued a statement rebutting Jackson's claims:
The #Browns have responded:
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) February 2, 2022
“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated. Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”
Jackson's suggestion that Haslam paid him to tank came after Flores filed suit against the NFL and its teams on Tuesday alleging discriminatory hiring practices and conducting sham interviews for Black coaching and front office candidates under the pretense of following the league's Rooney Rule.
The next step for the suit — the desired outcomes for which are to improve hiring practices and transparency around hiring Black candidates — is to avoid being dismissed by courts.