Did you see the 2018 debut of Hard Knocks on HBO that features the Cleveland Browns? If you didn’t, you missed a great episode for several reasons.
Browns new offensive coordinator Todd Haley certainly won’t be center stage during this season, but you can bet fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be closely watching every move he makes and everything he says.
During the debut episode, the Browns coaches were all sitting in a meeting together and after running backs coach Freddie Kitchens voiced his views on several players being given maintenance days to help them get through training camp and the preseason healthy, Haley then added his two cents while addressing head coach Hue Jackson. During his statement to Jackson, Haley referenced a Tomlin-ism.
“I have an opinion on it and we need to get so much done,” Haley said. “And I know I said that to you and we joke about it, but if we live in our fears, I mean, our team has to get mentally tougher and be able to fight through the sh*t that we got to fight through. We got to change this drastically and if we got guys that haven’t done sh*t sitting around doing nothing, I just don’t know how we’re going to do it.”
Jackson then quickly addressed Haley’s concerns after chuckling immediately after the “we live in our fears,” was spoken by Haley.
“Well, I respect you saying that,” Jackson said to Haley. “I mean, I used to sit in the same chair.”
Haley then tried to interrupt Jackson and the Browns head coach quickly shut him down.
“Let me finish, whoa, whoa. Let me finish,” Jackson said. “I used to sit in the same chair that you guys sit in. I used to feel the same way. I just want to kill him, okay, until all of the sudden I sat in this chair and then they’re not there and you don’t get them to practice and you can’t get them through and then you don’t have them for three weeks and I’m not living in my fears. That’s real and I think we all can appreciate that.”
Haley certainly didn’t seem too thrilled with Jackson’s response and it showed in his body language from that point forward in the meeting even though the former Steelers offensive coordinator tried to respond to what Jackson said with some positivity after first taking off his hat, laying it on the table and then rubbing his head with both hands.
“All that being said, on a positive, and we got a long way to go, but that being said, we’re making progress,” Haley said to Jackson. “There’s enough positive, in my experience, that I’m encouraged.”
After saying his peace, however, Haley dart his eyes to his right and the direction of Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, a character in his own right.
It will certainly be both interesting and fun to watch Haley throughout the remainder of the episodes as I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we post something about him based on something he said or his interactions with Jackson. Quite honestly, Haley doesn’t seem to be too thrilled with the way Jackson runs the Browns after spending the last six seasons working under Tomlin in Pittsburgh.
Personally, I sort of feel a little sorry for Haley and especially after Jackson then responded to his offensive coordinator with this.
“That’s good. Guys, listen, I’m excited about what you’re doing,” Jackson said. “I’m gonna say it again, but the chair I sit in is a little different than the chair you guys sit in. I get to watch from a different lens and I think you guys can all respect that. At the end of the day, I get to drive this bus and I’m gonna get it the way I want it. That’s period. That’s just how it works. Okay?”
After that, this happened.
