Colin Cowherd: “Are you bothered personally that Baker Mayfield doubles down on criticism of you?”
Hue Jackson: “It doesn’t bother me personally. I’ve been in the NFL for a long time and seen a lot of different ways of people handling things. He has to do what he feels he needed to do and that’s how he’s handled it. Everyone is going to handle things differently and that’s how he chooses to make sure he’s ready to go and ready to play. The Browns weren’t playing Hue Jackson, the Browns were playing the Bengals.”
Listen to former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson join The Herd to discuss how he deals with the ongoing beef between himself and his former quarterback Baker Mayfield, as the unapologetically outspoken young quarterback has routinely taken shots in the media at his former coach.
The feud, which has appeared rather one-sided at Jackson's expense, started last year with Mayfield calling Jackson ‘fake’ days after Jackson was fired by the Browns and signed onto to division rival Cincinnati shortly thereafter.
When Mayfield’s Browns went on to beat the Bengals later in the season, Mayfield and Jackson shared an incredibly awkward ‘embrace’ where it appeared Mayfield quickly pulled away from Jackson when Jackson went in for a postgame handshake and hug.
Mayfield’s disdain from Jackson stems from Jackson’s decision to start journeyman Tyrod Taylor in the first three games of the season over the former no. 1 overall pick, but Jackson was always considered a polarizing coach in the eyes of former players with his sometimes condescending personality, further showcased on last year's season of Hard Knocks that followed the Browns' training camp.
Mayfield recently said in an interview with ESPN that beating his former coach was the highlight of his rookie season and stated that he wanted ‘revenge’.
Check out the audio below as Jackson tells Colin Cowherd that Mayfield’s constant gripes at him do not bother him personally, and says he understands certain competitors fire themselves up in different ways, adding that it seemed to work in Mayfield’s case.