By: T. Love
Hue Jackson comes to the Atlanta Falcons as the offensive coordinator after serving the previous three seasons as the wide receivers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. While at Cincinnati, Jackson helped mold two scrubs by the name of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh into a 1,000-yard duo last season. Jackson will be tasked again with working with getting maximum output from a talented, but underachieving group of receivers.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Calif., Jackson was the offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins prior to his stint in Cincinnati. As the O.C., the ‘Skins ranked 19th in passing yards, 22nd in rushing and 23rd in total offense. That would make any Falcons’ fan nervous as the offense has been pretty weak under the Jim Mora regime despite leading the league in rushing each season. A lot of those numbers are attributed to quarterback Michael Vick.
Jackson’s title as offensive coordinator is a bit different from the traditional sense, as head coach Bobby Petrino will call the plays on Sunday. However, Jackson is responsible for assisting in game plans and teaching a variety of skilled positions. He will also aid in halftime adjustments.
His biggest challenge will be overseeing the development of Atlanta’s young receivers.
Petrino’s brother Paul serves as the wide receivers coach, but under Jackson’s supervision the two will attempt to find five serviceable receivers on the roster. 1st-round picks Michael Jenkins and Roddy White are on the hot seat to produce this season, but if Jackson could turn a second-round and a seventh-round pick from Oregon State into a dynamic duo, he should do wonders with the Falcons and maybe the passing attack will finally come to fruition in Atlanta.
Under Jackson’s watch will also be quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave and running backs coach Ollie Wilson, who were both retained from Jim Mora’s staff and offensive line coach Mike Summers.