The deed has been done. Hue Jackson has taken the plunge.
It wasn't an icy Lake Erie -- having just been there myself, I imagine it was rather warm and muggy, the type of humidity that makes you sweat just from existing in it -- but it was indeed the waters of the Great Lake. And it was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns trotting, not quite jumping, into said lake to make good on his promise.
It was...The Cleanse.
Jackson, as we all know, is 1-31 as the head coach of the Browns. His team in 2017 became just the second in NFL history to finish a season with an 0-16 record, joining the 2008 Detroit Lions in infamy. Armed with a new collection of acquired talent, the franchise is aiming to leave that in the past, starting with this June dip.
"We're gonna cleanse ourselves, and we're going to be done with the past," Jackson said in the above video posted to Twitter on the team's official account. "Everything that's gone on in the past in the year 2016 and the year 2017, we're closing the book on. I truly believe that as we move forward that we're heading in the direction where we have a chance to win and win consistently."
The path toward success continues when Cleveland opens training camp late next month. With the swim now complete, we can also leave this quirky story in the past. Yes, in the year 2018, an NFL head coach went swimming in a lake to make good on a guarantee he likely thought he'd never have to revisit beyond that day.
Let the record show he brought plenty of fellow employees with him in an effort to raise money for his foundation -- but forgot his towel.
