Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield obsession with Hue Jackson is weird

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield continues to relish in sticking to former coach Hue Jackson, and frankly, it’s getting weird.

The Cleveland Browns are winning football games and Baker Mayfield is the new king of The Land, but his obsession with sticking it to former coach Hue Jackson is bordering on the bizarre.

It was just after Thanksgiving when Mayfield rejected a “bro-hug” from Jackson following a decisive Browns victory in Cincinnati, just two weeks after Hue was fired as Cleveland’s head coach.

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Jackson was really making a spectacle of the day, hugging anybody he could find.

Mayfield continued on on social media, calling his ex-coach, “Fake.”

The newest chapter has Mayfield crushing Jackson once again, as the rookie’s stare down of his former boss is spinning its web across social media.

Mayfield’s no stranger to adversity. As a three-star recruit, he wasn’t highly recruited coming out of college. He walked on at Texas Tech. Transferred, then walked on at Oklahoma. Won the starting job after having to sit out the 2014 season and hasn’t looked back since.

His collegiate career peaked when he was named the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner.

Mayfield was the guy with the chip on his shoulder. He’d been beating back adversity ever since high school.

Could he keep that edge in the pros, though?

He was, after all, the No. 1 overall pick. He wasn’t being overlooked anymore.

Which brings Jackson back into the picture.

Perhaps Mayfield harbors a grudge against Jackson from not starting him right away? It would be a stretch to make that leap, because the decision to start Tyrod Taylor from the get-go was an organizational decision.

After the first Battle of Ohio, Mayfield indicated he had a problem with jackson taking the Bengals’ gig so soon.

But you’ve got to consider Hue’s reputation in the NFL at that point. Jackson just finished an 0-16 season, and despite coming back for a third go-round in Cleveland, he still couldn’t get things turned around.

Probably desperate just to stay in the league, Jackson jumped at the opportunity his friend Marvin Lewis gave him.

Remember, NFL can stand for “Not For Long” sometimes. Don’t assume Jackson was going to have job offers this offseason. It was in his best interest to take a gig and begin restoring his reputation.

The Bengals have only trended downward since Jackson arrived, but a lot of that can be attributed to losing starting quarterback Andy Dalton and stud wideout A.J. Green.

Dustin Fox, of the Browns Radio Network made this tweet after the Baker stare hit the socials.

Why be petty?

As fans, we can move on. The franchise quarterback is finally in place. The team appears to be in a place where it can finally win.

Nobody thought Hue truly had a chance. His first two teams here were torn down the studs. We endured 1-31 together. He should’ve never have been brought back for the third year. Not after stripping the play calling duties away, and making him hire an OC.

This was probably Jackson’s last shot to be a head coach.

I thought of that while after seeing this picture of Jackson standing at midfield possibly soaking in “what might have been.”

Baker needs new grudges, like sticking it to the Steelers and the Ravens, the two teams who’ve dominated the AFC North for the better part of the last 15 years.

Hue’s time here is done. He’s not a part of this team any longer. The Browns are moving forward behind Mayfield, and it should be on the leader to guide us away from the past.