Jimmy Haslam rips Hue Jackson in interview with Knox News, says he was never paid to lose and never took responsibility for record with Browns

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam stood up for his organization and unloaded on former coach Hue Jackson.Haslam responded to Jackson's comments of the last two days in an interview with Knox News in his hometown of Knoxville, Tenn."Unequivocally, Hue Jackson was never paid to lose games," Haslam said Thursday. "That is an absolute falsehood. And it's also an absolute falsehood that I laughed while we were losing. Most people who know me would say, 'That's not how Jimmy would react to losing.'"In the 15-minute ESPN interview that he did, for approximately 14½ minutes it was about how he was treated so poorly with the Browns and lots of claims he had."Analysis: Brian Flores should distance himself from Hue Jackson, because their situations aren't the sameAfter fired Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit Tuesday that included an allegation Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for every loss in 2019 in pursuit of the No. 1 draft pick, Jackson implied in a tweet that he was paid for losing, as well. Jackson backpedaled Wednesday and Thursday in interviews on ESPN, saying he wasn't paid to lose but received $750,000 in a bonus structure that didn't reward winning.The Browns went 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 in 2017, Jackson's first two seasons. He received an unannounced contract extension in 2017 but was fired at midseason 2018 with a 3-36-1 record.Browns call Hue Jackson's tanking claims "categorically false""Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period," Haslam said. "He's been masterful at pointing fingers but has never accepted any blame. I have accepted a ton of blame, and rightfully so."There are a lot of things I could've done better. Hue has never accepted blame for one thing."Commentary: Allegations of paying to lose put NFL, Browns in uncomfortable spotlightJackson continues to insist that he didn't know when he was hired the Browns' plan was to rebuild, and that he didn't have the talent necessary to win games."I can't think of any individual that I've worked with over the past 45 years that I spent as much time trying to help be successful as I did Hue Jackson," Haslam said. "His third year, when our roster began to pretty dramatically improve, the eight games he coached we were 2-5-1. After Hue was dismissed, we went 5-3."Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams took over as interim coach for the second half of the season. Freddie Kitchens was hired as the full-time coach in 2019 but lasted only one year. Current coach Kevin Stefanski was hired in January 2020.Haslam said his goal has always been to win consistently."We've not done that, but we're getting closer," Haslam said. "(That goal) has been the same regardless of the coach."