Hue Jackson's patience is apparently running thin after the Cleveland Browns' 26-23 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The head coach watched his offense struggle yet again with a slow start and consistency to the point where Jackson hasn't ruled out the possibility of taking over play-calling responsibilities from offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
"I feel like I have to and I want to," Jackson told reporters after the game. "That's what I know, so I'm not going to continue to watch something that I know how to do keep being that way, and that's just the truth. I mean, that's nothing against anybody in our building. I just think that's what I do and I think I need to be a little bit more involved."
Sunday marked the fourth overtime game of the season that the Browns (2-4-1) have been involved in, and the team holds a 1-2-1 mark in those contests.
Week 7's game against the Buccaneers saw Jackson's team produce 305 yards of total offense and convert just 3-of-14 third-down attempts (21 percent).
The issues on Sunday are compounded when considering the Browns totaled 317 yards of offense and converted 6-of-16 third-down attempts in Week 6, and have lost the time of possession battle in two straight games resulting in a two-game losing streak.
"Trust me, I'm not trying to create any issue here," Jackson said. "But I think if the offense is not playing well and we haven't over a period of time, being a head coach and an offensive guy who's done this, I think I have every right as a head coach to jump in here and see if I can help, and assist, and get this thing to where I think it needs to because we need to be better on offense. And if that's my specialty, then I need to be involved more and I will be."
Jackson has experience calling plays, of course.
Before becoming the Browns' head coach in 2016, he served as an offensive coordinator at the college level and in the NFL, which included stints with the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals. Jackson retained the play-calling duties in Cleveland the past two seasons before Haley joined the organization during the offseason.
Jackson will continue evaluating whether he needs to jump in on the offensive side, but he made it clear any decision rests solely in his corner.
"I'm the head coach of the football team, period. Period," Jackson said. "There's nothing else that needs to be said. Nothing. That's the way it works. I'm the head coach of the football team. That's it.
"It's not going to be about butting heads. I'm the head coach of the football team. I will do what I feel I need to do to get this team where it needs to be."
Whatever direction Jackson leans, the schedule won't be kind to the Browns ahead of their Week 11 bye.
The Browns face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons in three straight weeks, so any required adjustments on offense need to be done quickly if the Browns hope to gain momentum.
