Berea, OH (92.3 The Fan) – No matter how angry Todd Haley may have been Sunday night at head coach Hue Jackson’s postgame press conference, Haley didn’t show it Thursday.
A former head coach himself, Haley understood the context of what Jackson said following a difficult 26-23 overtime loss at Tampa Bay about wanting to get involved in the offense and help – a lot of Jackson’s remarks simply came in the heat of the moment.
“Yeah, that’s what it sounded like, and we talked about it,” Haley said. “This is an emotional game. It is not for everyone. Coaching in the NFL, especially being in that spot, is not for everyone. It is a high-pressure, high-stress job, and we’ve just got to keep doing what we know is right.”
Haley and Jackson met Monday morning as they always do, but this week’s meeting gave Jackson an opportunity to clear the air with Haley, who sees no reason to make a bigger issue of it than it already is.
“My sole focus is trying to get this offense as good as it can [be],” Haley said. “That is all in the rear-view mirror. Everybody’s on the same page. All of us want to start faster.”
Slow starts in Games have plagued the Browns all season. They’ve yet to score a first quarter touchdown this season. Haley blames self-inflicted wounds for an offense that is averaging just over 5.7 points in the first half this season, be it penalties, dropped passes or missed assignments.
“Each week, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot,” Haley said. “We have to execute early. I’ve said it time and time again.”
Earlier on Thursday Jackson said he wasn’t as concerned about what Haley’s reaction to his comments would be as he was to what it would be from what was written and said about them.
“I do not think I was worried that he would take my comments the wrong way,” Jackson said. “I was worried that he would take what everybody was saying and writing and the way that everybody made it out to be the wrong way. You always have to handle those things very quickly and privately. We did, and we move on. Like I said, he has been great.”
As for Jackson’s role this week, from Haley’s perspective, it’s business as usual.
“It’s been the same as it’s always been,” Haley said. “He sits in a number of meetings. Everybody gives their ideas and if they’re are good ones, we go with it.”
Haley echoed what his rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield said Wednesday, they just need to stay the course and perfect their system.
“We’ve just got to keep on keeping on,” Haley said. “There’s going to be down times in seasons. I’ve been on 2-4 teams that end up being in the playoffs, 1-4 teams that are playing big games at the end of the year, you just have to keep coaching them.
“You have to trust that what you’re doing is the right thing and keep doing it, and not deviate and not be affected by anything else. That’s the way it has to be. That’s the way you become a good group and a good team.”
Haley sees plenty of positives through 7 games, even if their record doesn’t reflect it.
The Browns are scoring nearly 7 more points per game and their average rushing, passing and total yardage numbers per game have also increased: +27.25 more yards on the ground, +20.65 yards passing and +48.525 total yards.
“We’ve shown enough flashes to be encouraged, to not feel like this is out of line,” Haley said. “I’ve been on teams now where I said, ‘Crap. We don’t have a chance.’ Not many but a couple years during my career where you’re like, ‘What are we going to do?’ I have not felt that way. I feel like we have a chance every single time we go out there.”
