Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores alleges Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season in order to ensure the team would wind up with the first overall pick and former Browns coach Hue Jackson made similar allegations in response to Flores’ lawsuit going public on Tuesday.
Jackson responded to a tweet about the case by saying Browns owner Jimmy Haslam “was happy while we kept losing” and then wrote “trust me it was a good number” in response to someone who said Haslam wasn’t offering $100,000 per loss. Jackson, who is now the head coach at Grambling, went 1-31 over his first two seasons with the Browns and was fired after a 2-5-1 start in 2018.
In another tweet, the executive director of Jackson’s foundation Kimberley Diemert said they had records that would support Flores’ case and wrote that Jackson and team executives Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Andrew Berry — who is now the team’s General Manager — were paid bonus money to tank in 2016 and 2017. Jackson replied by saying he “can back up every word I’m saying.”
Flores’ suit was filed as a class action, which leaves room for others to join the litigation. Jackson’s comments suggest he’d be willing to do that.