ROCKY RIVER: Legendary Browns running back Jim Brown will receive an increased role in the organization, serving as a sounding board for coach Hue Jackson and a mentor to the players.
Owner Jimmy Haslam revealed the development Thursday as he addressed a crowd during breakfast before the Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club.
“Jim has been re-involved in the franchise over the last three years, but with Hue coming in, Jim will be even more significantly involved,” said Haslam, who gave Brown the title of special adviser three years ago. “Jim’s knowledge not just of football but ... his knowledge of people is something that will help the franchise significantly. You have to have a coach who’s secure enough to have an NFL legend around and feel good about it. We have that in Hue Jackson. Jim and Hue have formed a good, close bond. Jim will be around much more and in a much more significant way helping our players be not just better players but better men.”
Jackson hadn’t interacted much with Brown before the Browns hired him to succeed coach Mike Pettine on Jan. 13. They’ve since hit it off, and Jackson plans to speak to Brown frequently.
“He understands these young men,” Jackson said. “He understands truly how to deal with them, how to motivate them and how to push them, and to me a guy like Jim, not to use him as a resource would be not very smart on my part.”
Brown, 80, said Jackson has made him feel respected.
“I’m motivated,” Brown said. “I’m going to do everything I can do to help, and not get in the way, but feel like I’m a part of it.”
Brown hopes to take a more active role with players, especially those from tough backgrounds.
He has communicated with suspended wide receiver Josh Gordon in the past month. Gordon is banished from the NFL because of recurring violations of its substance-abuse policy. His bid for reinstatement was rejected in April. He may re-apply Aug. 1.
“I’ve talked with Josh twice on the phone, and the last time I talked with him he sounded very motivated, and I think he was in rehab and feeling good about it and discovering some things about himself,” Brown said, adding he didn’t know whether the former All-Pro was in inpatient or outpatient rehab. “He really seemed ready to take responsibility for himself.”
Through his Amer-I-Can Program, Brown has guided inner-city youth for decades.
“Sometimes you have to recognize that they have a psychological problem based on their upbringing, lack of father’s love, trying to be with the boys on the corner,” he said. “All of those things come into play. ... I am a believer in trying to help people help themselves.”
In addition to summoning Brown, Jackson has begun to repair the rocky relationships alumni developed with previous regimes.
Jackson asked Kevin Mack, former Browns running back and their head of alumni relations, to invite retired players to visit team headquarters. Several of them embraced the opportunity and addressed the team at recent organized team activity practices.
Legendary quarterback Bernie Kosar highlighted the list. His appearance in Berea represented a thaw in what had become a frosty relationship when the Browns fired him from their preseason telecasts two years ago.
“I was very impressed with [Kosar],” Jackson said. “I had an opportunity to talk to him, and I know he’s very passionate about the football team and the organization and the city. I thought it was important for him to be there, and I thought it was well received by our team.”
Bob Golic, David Mays, Bill Duff, Frank Stams, Dave Wohlabaugh, Hanford Dixon, Steve Sanders, John Thierry, Felix Wright, Greg Pruitt and Roger Chanoine spoke to the team during OTAs, too.
“It connects our players with the former players, and I think those former players who live here, they want to feel like they are still a part of it, you know, and they are because they’re the men who laid the foundation for where we are today,” Jackson said. “... I’ve never played in the National Football League, so there’s people who are going to be able to give [our players] very experienced advice on what they are dealing with.”
Jackson said he’s taught the players about the franchise’s history because “it’s what fuels us to play a little harder and get the job done.”
Brown appreciates the effort to reconnect with the past.
“Hue has brought a healing to the team in a lot of ways,” he said. “I am honored to be a part of it.”
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.