Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam fires back - Hue Jackson 'never accepted blame' for losing

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam fired back at former coach Hue Jackson on Thursday, saying that Jackson «has never accepted blame for one thing» and that the claim he paid Jackson to lose games is «an absolute falsehood.»

«Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period,» Haslam told 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.»

Wednesday on ESPN's SportsCenter, Jackson said that the Browns had a «four-year plan» that incentivized losing during the first two years, which led to his 1-31 record during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and Cleveland having the No. 1 overall draft pick in back-to-back years.

«Teams that win are just not the youngest team, not that the youngest teams can't win, so I didn't understand the process,» Jackson told ESPN. «I didn't understand what the plan was, I asked for clarity because it did not talk about winning and losing until Year 3 and 4. So that told you right there that something wasn't correct but I still couldn't understand it until I had the team that I had.»

Jackson added later in the interview that, «I do know that no head coach is going to survive if you lose a lot of games.»

Jackson, who is now the head coach for Grambling State, claimed that bonus money was available if certain measurables were met such as aggregate rankings, being the youngest team and having a certain amount of draft picks. Jackson said that he told Haslam he wasn't interested in bonus money and instead wanted that money used to improve the team.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Browns called Jackson's charge «completely fabricated» and said that «any accusation that any