Living up to the legend of Coach Eddie weighs heavy on Hue Jackson, Grambling’s new football coach
5th July 2023 · 0 Comments
By Ro Brown
Contributing Writer
Hue Jackson has been coaching football on the collegiate and professional levels for 34 years. Most of those seasons at the professional level as an NFL assistant and two stints as head coach with the Oakland Raiders (2011) and the Cleveland Browns (2016-18).
But nothing could prepare him for his current place of employment – Grambling State University – where legendary head coach Eddie Robinson ruled for nearly 60 years, amassing 408 victories.
“The hair stands up on my head every time I drive into the stadium support building,” Jackson says. “One of the greatest coaches and winners in the game coached at Grambling and that’s what I’m chasing.”
Recently that pursuit brought the Southern California native to New Orleans for the third of four Grambling Satellite Camps on a sweltering day at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park.
It’s an effort to establish much-needed relationships in talent-rich Southeast Louisiana.
“I have some guys who are on my staff who are from the area. They have some ties and know people that I don’t know but I want to get to know. We just want to introduce Grambling. We are down here; we want to be down here recruiting the student-athletes and give them a chance to represent “The G.”
Jackson and staff also made stops in Monroe, Lafayette and Baton Rouge.
Recently college football has witnessed former professional footballers like Dieon Sanders at Jackson State, Eddie George at Tennessee State and Robert Massey at Winston-Salem State take head coaching jobs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s).
“I made a choice and a decision, and I think I made the right one. Some of the greatest players in this game have walked the halls and played on this grass.”
“I can’t do anything but try to live up to that legacy. It’s my job to restore it and that’s what my staff and I are trying to do. We’re excited about the challenge, and we’ve got to get it done.”
Hue Jackson’s first season leading the program Eddie Robinson built was not good.
A won-loss mark of 3-8 is good reason for a roster overhaul. He says 75 percent of this year’s roster will be new faces.
“Last year was last year, 3-8 and I’ve got to own that. But I know what the vision is, and I know where we’re going.” Jackson added, “Everybody wants it fast and quick, but I want to build something that’s sustainable and will be there over time long after I’m gone. If I can get it fast, I’ll take it fast, but I think we are well on our way and I’m working at it.”
The “guys on his staff” Jackson previously referenced are Tony Hull, former head coach at Warren Easton High School in New Orleans and Robert Valdez who coached at East St. John, West St. John and St. James High Schools.
“I feel like I’m learning so much from him,” says Valdez, who also held head coaching posts at McKinley and Scotlandville in Baton Rouge.
He (Jackson) pours so much into us and is demanding of us growing in the profession as Black men and understanding what it requires to be at the top of your game. Coach Jackson stresses meticulous attention to detail and being a master at your craft. It’s just a tremendous blessing for me.”
Hull and Valdez are examples of how Hue Jackson continues his quest to improve the plight and the number of Black coaches.
It’s a case of too few opportunities and lacking the will to do something about the problem.
“It’s the state of our world. I thank my great Lord that twice I had the opportunity to lead organizations. But it’s been 106-year history of the NFL and only 29 Black head coaches in that history. That tells you there is a problem. People say they want to do something about it, well, let’s do something about it. It never changes and I just hope in my lifetime it changes.”
This article originally published in the July 3, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
