The Browns haven’t won this year, and only won once last year. And plenty of teams have used the break after a game in London to make changes in such situations.
But even if it wasn’t said specifically after their latest loss (to the Vikings, which dropped him to 1-23 there), Browns coach Hue Jackson said he felt like he had the support of owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.
“I don’t think it was articulated here, but I still feel that,’' Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I don’t sense — you guys would have to ask Jimmy that, but I totally have the support of Mr. and Mrs. Haslam. I don’t feel any change in that. I know everybody is concerned about the losing, my job, this -- I mean, there’s all kinds of questions out there. I get all that.
“That’s never been what my thought process is (his job),’' he said. “Mine is trying to get this team to be the best it can be, keep this coaching staff working hard, keep these players working hard, and that’s my charge. It can’t be anything else. But no, I totally feel like I still have their support.’'
Of course, Haslam has made proclamations before that didn’t pan out, such as his preseason 2015 pledge not to flush General Manager Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine, and you’ll notice Jackson’s in his second season.
The Haslams were in attendance in London Sunday, but they were nearly the only ones.
Franchise fixture Joe Thomas missed his first game after triceps surgery, and top pick Myles Garrett was back home with a concussion. Coupled with the general lack of talent on the roster and a rookie quarterback they’ve already yanked at put back in, it was a hard spot to expect anyone to win in.
“Everything has got to be perfect,” Jackson said. “That’s where we are. Everything has got to be perfect for us to have a chance to win a football game. We get it, and our coaching staff gets it and our players get it, and we work that way. We try to do the best we can to get everything right, but we all know that’s not how football is played.
“You can’t be perfect, it’s still a game. You’re going to make mistakes and things are going to come up. Today we didn’t make as many, so we were in the game for quite a while. Then all of a sudden we don’t make some other plays I think we can make, and then the game flipped. That’s kind of been the story of where we are.’'
So far, there’s no sign the Haslams are prepared to make (yet another) change. But it’s early yet, and 1-23 is still 1-23.