Browns coach Hue Jackson has yet to hire someone to replace departed associate head coach-offense Pep Hamilton, and he plans to use his staff’s experience coaching in the Senior Bowl next week in Mobile, Ala., to help him decide whether an addition is necessary.
Jackson calls the plays on offense, but Hamilton still held an important role last season. He served as a quarterbacks coach and helped install game plans and run practices.
So when Hamilton left the Browns on Jan. 9 to become the assistant head coach and passing game coordinator at the University of Michigan, the door opened for Jackson to make a key hire.
“I feel pretty good about our staff right now. I think people truly believe we have another position open, and maybe we do, maybe we don’t,” Jackson said Thursday night. “It all depends on how I see it and feel about it.
“I feel good about the guys I have, and [the Senior Bowl presents] a chance for us to go out there and practice and for me to watch our staff in its entirety and then see if we do need to make an addition. But I feel good about where we are right now.”
Jackson retained three veteran assistants on offense who could theoretically be used differently should he decide not to hire a replacement for Hamilton. They are running backs coach/run game coordinator Kirby Wilson, senior offensive assistant/wide receivers coach Al Saunders and tight ends coach Greg Seamon.
“I hated to see him go,” Jackson said of Hamilton. “He did what he had to do, but I feel like we have some very capable people here that can fill the void if [we] need to.”
If Jackson ultimately sees a need to hire someone, he might run into some candidates at the Senior Bowl.
Phil Savage, the game’s executive director and former Browns general manager, calls the Senior Bowl “the unofficial NFL convention.” It’s not unusual for coaches looking to fill out their staffs to conduct interviews at the showcase.
But until Jackson decides whether he needs reinforcements, he considers evaluating prospects and developing a feel for coaching with new Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams his top Senior Bowl priorities.
“It’ll be great as long as me and Gregg don’t tackle each other before it starts,” Jackson said with a laugh. “No, it’ll be really good. Just being back out on the grass, it’s what we all love to do. We all love to teach, motivate, organize and get a group of guys to be the best they can be. We are there to evaluate as well. We want to ... see if we can instruct some men to do things our way and see if they’ll buy in.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.