Bengals OC Hue Jackson Reflects On Raiders Firing Heading Into Season Opener

Back in 2011, head coach Hue Jackson helped lead the Oakland Raiders to a record of 8-8 and seemed to be getting the struggling NFL franchise back on track. Despite coming close to getting the Raiders back in the playoff picture in the AFC, the team parted ways with Jackson.

Now Jackson is the offensive coordinator on a perennial playoff team in the Cincinnati Bengals. With Jackson set to make his return to O.co Coliseum for the first time since he was fired by the Raiders in Week 1, the former head coach reflected on his time in Oakland with Coley Harvey of ESPN:

“That was hard,” said Jackson, who led the Raiders to an 8-8 record in 2011 that hasn’t been matched since. “We were kind of close. I thought we were. But we just didn’t get it done. At the end of the day, it’s still a performance business. I thought we had a chance to make the playoffs, and we didn’t do it.”

Oakland hasn’t come even close to eight wins since parting ways with Jackson. The team has gone through a two head coaches in Dennis Allen and Tony Sparano with Oakland now on their third after Jackson with Jack Del Rio.

Jackson explained a little bit more about being fired by the Raiders and believes he’s moved on from the ugly divorce with his former team, via Harvey:

“They can decide to go into a different direction at any time, and that’s what they did,” Jackson said. “But I’m beyond that now. That’s in the rearview mirror.”

The Bengals have been one of the most consistent teams in the AFC since Jackson came on board. Cincinnati hasn’t been able to record a playoff win as of yet, but the Bengals are always considered a threat in the conference while competing in arguably one of the toughest divisions in the NFL.

The Raiders will host the Bengals in Week 1 at O.co Coliseum on Sept. 13.