Browns coach Hue Jackson didn’t think his top lieutenant on offense would leave him in the wake of a 1-15 season, but he was wrong.
Associate head coach-offense Pep Hamilton has accepted a job on coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff at the University of Michigan, a person familiar with the situation confirmed Monday.
ESPN first reported Hamilton’s decision.
On Sunday, Jackson expressed confidence Hamilton would stay put.
“Is Pep Hamilton going to remain on our staff?” Jackson said Sunday during a conference call. “Yeah, I sure hope so. I mean I’ve known about the Jim Harbaugh situation from a week and a half ago. I feel very comfortable that Pep will stay.
“You know anything can happen. We want him to stay. We hope he stays. A young man is entitled to do what they feel is best for them. But I would think we’ve created a great environment, and I hope things are still good, and as far as I know, things are.”
The door opened for Hamilton to reunite with Harbaugh when passing game coordinator and quarterbacks/wide receivers coach Jedd Fisch left Michigan last week to become UCLA’s offensive coordinator. Harbaugh was the head coach at Stanford in 2010 when Hamilton served as its wide receivers coach.
With Hamilton leaving the Browns, Jackson must replace his highest-ranking assistant on offense after recently overhauling the staff on defense. Jackson fired defensive coordinator Ray Horton and replaced him with Gregg Williams on Saturday. Williams is expected to hire at least a few defensive assistants and ouster at least a few of Horton’s allies.
Hamilton, 42, served as a quarterbacks coach for the Browns, so Jackson will, at the very least, need to find a new one. A former offensive coordinator for Stanford and the Indianapolis Colts, Hamilton also helped install game plans and run practices, so Jackson might seek an offensive assistant who can handle those duties as well.
NFL Network reported Michigan wanted Greg Roman as its passing coordinator, but now he’s a candidate to join the Browns and replace Hamilton.
The Buffalo Bills fired Roman, 44, as their offensive coordinator Sept. 16 after he spent one season and two games with them. Roman, who played football for John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland from 1990-93, was the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14, when Harbaugh coached the San Francisco 49ers and they advanced to Super Bowl XLVII during the 2012 season.
But no matter how the Browns fill the void created by Hamilton’s departure, Jackson will continue to call the offense’s plays next season.
“Yes, I will,” Jackson replied Sunday when asked whether he would continue to call plays regardless of potential changes on his staff. “I don’t know why I would not. Until I get this organization where I need it to be, I need to continue to do what I think I’ve done in the past to play winning football.
“Obviously, we didn’t do it as good this past year. Trust me, I’ve looked at myself, too. Hue Jackson’s got to get better as well as anybody’s got to get better.”