Grambling St. fires Hue Jackson after 2 seasons

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterNov 28, 2023, 06:07 PM ET
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- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.

Grambling State fired coach Hue Jackson on Tuesday after only two seasons at the school.

Jackson, a longtime NFL coach who led both the Cleveland Browns and Raiders earlier in his career, went 8-14 in two seasons at Grambling State. The Tigers improved their wins total from three in 2022 to five in 2023, but still finished with a losing record for the fourth straight season.

Grambling State lost to Southern 27-22 on Saturday in the Bayou Classic.

“We want to thank Coach Jackson on his contributions to the GSU football program,” athletic director Trayvean Scott said in a statement. “We wish him well in all his future endeavors. This was not an easy decision to make but one that we felt was necessary to move our program forward. The goal at GSU is to compete for championships every year. As we move forward, we will be intentional in finding the right person to lead this program back to its rightful place as one of the top programs in the country.”

Co-offensive coordinator John Simon has been named Grambling State’s interim head coach.

Jackson, who went 11-44 as an NFL head coach, returned to college football and the HBCU ranks at Tennessee State, where he served as offensive coordinator under coach Eddie George in 2021, before getting the Grambling State job. He hired disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles as offensive coordinator in February 2022, but Briles resigned four days later after significant backlash.