Hue Jackson has coached with a heavy heart the past two weeks, though the Browns coach has never mentioned the recent deaths of his mother and brother.
“It’s been really tough on him,’' Jackson’s agent, John Thornton, told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “He’s just trying to let football help him out.’'
Jackson’s brother, John Jackson Jr., died unexpectedly two weeks ago. His mother, Betty Lee, died Sunday morning after a lengthy illness. Lee was 83.
Thornton said the deaths, so close together, have “hit [Jackson] hard.”
Football has helped Jackson cope, Thornton told Cabot, but the Hard Knocks cameras have not helped Jackson’s grieving.
“At any given time he’s got two cameras in his office,’' Thornton said. “He’s doing the best he can not to let his emotions get the best of him. He knows he has to be there for the team.’'