Browns coaches Hue Jackson (left) and Gregg Williams both played football in college. But who had the better career? We ranked the playing careers of all current Browns coaches to find out how they stack up. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

Ranking the playing careers of Browns coaches

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It was 2016. The Browns were 0-2. Both Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown were injured, and somebody asked Hue Jackson if the team had any quarterback options other than rookie Cody Kessler.

"Me," Jackson joked.

There were probably worse options than Jackson, who played quarterback at Pacific in the 1980s and led the school to its first win against a Big Ten opponent.

Jackson's playing career ended in college, the same as most of the coaches on his 2018 staff. As for how successful Jackson's career was, he falls somewhere in the middle of the pack.

How do I know this? I grabbed the 2018 Browns media guide (and Google) and ranked the Browns coaches based on their playing careers. The group has a former All-Pro, three different kinds of All-Americans and three college national champions. There are also veterans of the NFL, CFL, USFL and NFL Europe. Not to mention, the 1988 University of San Diego special teams player of the year.

How do they stack up? Let's head to the rankings.

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BUT I DID STAY AT A HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS LAST NIGHT TIER

21. Josh Christovich (strength and conditioning assistant/sports science); Monty Gibson (strength and conditioning assistant); Todd Haley (offensive coordinator); Dale Jones (strength and conditioning assistant); Jerod Kruse (assistant defensive backs/safeties coach); Eric Sanders (defensive quality control coach).

If any of these guys even played football in high school, they didn't want to mention it in their Browns media guide bio. We do know that Haley wanted to play football, but a back condition he was born with kept him off the field. Instead, he was a ball boy for the Steelers, and later played golf in college.

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Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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NOT A LOT TO GO ON TIER

20. Greg Seamon (tight ends coach)

19. Scott Kaniecki (defensive quality control)

18. Brian Braswell (offensive quality control)

17. Bob Saunders (offensive quality control/assistant wide receivers coach)

16. Bob Wylie (offensive line coach)

Bob Wylie's one-line backstory in the Browns media guide is the most impressive here: "He played linebacker at the University of Colorado." After that, it's a potpourri of smaller schools where some future Browns coaches juggled practices with a class schedule. Beyond that, we don't know much.

Saunders was a wide receiver and defensive back at Southern Methodist. Braswell was a center and tackle at Hampton. Kaniecki was a wide receiver at SUNY Brockport and Seamon "played football" at Franklin College.

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Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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BIG MAN ON CAMPUS TIER

15. Evan Marcus (strength and conditioning assistant)

Marcus was a three-year letterman at Ithaca College, and started on the offensive line when the Bombers won the 1988 Division III national championship.

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Evan Marcus. (Associated Press)

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14. Gregg Williams (defensive coordinator)

Williams was a quarterback and three-year letterman at Truman State. But the Bulldogs weren't exactly known for throwing. They led Division II in rushing in 1978, and Williams completed less than 40 passes (two touchdowns) in his three seasons.

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Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams hugs his safety Jabril Peppers as they walk off Heinz Field in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in December. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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13. Blake Williams (linebackers coach)

Williams was a four-year letterman as a defensive back at Princeton. But he edges his father on this list mostly due to his high school career. He played five positions at Clarence High and Brentwood Academy (RB, WR, DB, P, K) and was team MVP as a senior.

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Browns linebacker coach Blake Williams works with his squad on a coverage drill during 2017 training camp. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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12. Ken Zampese (quarterbacks coach)

Zampese was a wide receiver and kick returner at San Diego. And while we don't know how many years he was a letterman, we do know he was special teams player of the year as a senior.

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Browns quarterback coach Ken Zampese talks with quarterback Baker Mayfield. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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11. Ken Delgado (assistant offensive line coach)

Delgado was a JUCO All-American at Chabot College, then played two seasons on the defensive line at San Jose State (1982-83).

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Ken Delgado. (Associated Press)

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10. Al Saunders (senior offensive assistant)

Saunders was a three-year starter and a team captain at defensive back for San Jose State (1966-68). He was also an academic All-American and is in the school's hall of fame.

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Al Saunders. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

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9. Amos Jones (special teams coordinator)

Jones played safety and running back at Alabama for Bear Bryant in the late 1970s, and was part of the team that won back-to-back national titles in 1978-79. The bulk of Jones' experience was limited to the junior varsity Alabama team, according to the Crimson Tide website, but he gets credit for being at Alabama.

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Amos Jones. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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8. Hue Jackson (head coach)

Jackson was Pacific's quarterback from 1985-86. As a senior he threw for 1,089 yards and rushed for 643. In two seasons he totaled 2,544 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. His biggest achievement might've been leading the Tigers past Minnesota in 1986, their first win against a Big Ten team. Jackson had 52 yards rushing and 180 passing (14-of-24, TD) in the 24-20 upset.

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Hue Jackson. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

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7. Freddie Kitchens (running backs/associated head coach)

Kitchens was a three-year starter at quarterback for Alabama (1995-97). He finished his career third in school history in career attempts, fourth in passing yards (4,668) and fifth in career completions. He threw 30 TDs and led the Crimson Tide to an Outback Bowl victory in his junior season.

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Freddie Kitchens. (Associated Press)

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THEY GOT PAID TO PLAY TIER

6. DeWayne Walker (defensive backs coach)

Walker was a two-year starter at Minnesota, and then took his cornerback talents to the CFL, where he played for Edmonton in 1982. After that, he played for the Oakland Invaders (1983) and the Arizona Outlaws (1984) in the first two seasons of the USFL.

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Browns coach DeWayne Walker talks with former Browns cornerback Joe Haden prior to a 2018 game. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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5. Adam Henry (wide receivers coach)

Henry earned All-Southland Conference honors as a wide receiver at McNeese State, where he finished his career with 93 catches for 1,690 yards and 16 touchdowns. That earned him a spot in the school's hall of fame. He signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent, and was on the team's practice squad in 1995.

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Adam Henry. (Associated Press)

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4. Larry Jackson (director of strength and conditioning)

Jackson was part of one of the country's top defense's as a linebacker at Texas A&M (1991-94), when the team went 42-2-1 and played in four bowl games. Jackson had six sacks as a senior and played in the Blue-Grey All-Star Game, but went undrafted. He spent time with the Broncos (1995), Cardinals (1996) and Dolphins (1997) but never got into a regular season game. In 1998 he played with the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe.

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Larry Jackson. (Associated Press)

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WHAT COULD'VE BEEN TIER

3. Mark Hutson (assistant offensive line coach)

Hutson was a two-time All-American guard at Oklahoma (1986-87), where he was a team captain and member of the Sooners' 1985 national title team. He was named to Oklahoma's all-century second-team in 1999 and one of top 100 players in program history. The Cowboys drafted Hutson in the third round in 1988, but during training camp he suffered a herniated disc that ultimately ended his career without ever playing in a game.

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Former Browns offensive lineman Cameron Erving talks assistant offensive line coach Mark Hutson during a 2016 practice. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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SOLID NFL CAREER TIER

2. Sam Shade (assistant special teams coach)

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Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (left) fumbles the ball on a sack by Redskins defensive back Sam Shade during a 2002 game. (Associated Press)

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PRO BOWL/ALL-PRO TIER

1. Clyde Simmons (defensive line coach)

Simmons is the runaway winner of this ranking.

He was a ninth-round pick out of Western Carolina in 1986 for the Eagles, and spent eight seasons in Philadelphia. He made back-to-back Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams in 1991 and 92 when had 32 sacks and 211 tackles. In all, he played 15 years in the NFL, totaling 121.5 sacks, which currently ranks 21st all-time. His 236 games played are tied for fourth among defensive linemen.

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Eagles defensive lineman Clyde Simmons sacks Cowboys quarterback Danny White during a 1987 game. (Associated Press)

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