CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hue Jackson is moving closer to relinquishing the play-calling duties that landed him the Browns' head coaching job in the first place.

He's received permission to interview Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan for the offensive coordinator job with the Browns, a source confirmed for cleveland.com.

Ryan's work with rookie Deshaun Watson in Ryan's first year as Texans QB coach has captured the attention of the NFL. He's one of a number of candidates the Browns will interview for the job, but Jackson said he would take a few days off before really digging into the search.

Jackson is also interested in bringing in former Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese, according to Alex Marvez of the SiriusXM NFL Radio and Sporting News. Zampese would likely coach serve as a position coach in the event Jackson hires Ryan or another coordinator.

The Broncos are also interested in Zampese as their quarterbacks coach, along with Ben McAdoo, according to ESPN.com.

Zampese, who took over for Jackson as Bengals coordinator in 2016, was fired two games into this season by Marvin Lewis, who was given a two-year extension by the Bengals on Tuesday. It ends speculation that Cincinnati could be come calling for Jackson as their head coach.

Lewis admitted in September that firing Zampese was hard, because he had been on Lewis' staff since his first season there with the Bengals in 2003. The Bengals failed to score a TD in their first two games.

"He busted his tail here," Lewis told reporters in September. "He's been with me since I started. ... He's a fine football coach, and he'll get another opportunity to knock it out of the park. This just didn't work."

Jackson also confirmed Monday he'll consider giving up play-calling duties to the new coordinator, which cleveland.com reported last week.

"I've said before that at some point in time I would like to do differently because I think it is important to coach the team," he said. "I think everything is on the table."

In order to land Ryan, 45, he'll likely have to hand over the reins. Texans coach Bill O'Brien confirmed today that Ryan has received permission, and that he won't stand in his way of his desire to call plays.

Bill O'Brien on Sean Ryan, candidate for Browns OC job: 'I think he has a real bright future'

-- Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL)

Browns assistant GM John Dorsey will also speak today with Packers executive Alonzo Highsmith for a potential assistant GM role, according to Green Bay reporter Aaron Nagler.

If Highsmith lands in that role, he'd be above Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry.

Jackson acknowledged Monday that trying to call plays and do everything himself the first two seasons "could have been too much. When you look back, there are all kind of decisions that you could say, 'Man, I wish I would have done this differently.'

"I believe I got this job because I was very good at what I did, which was call plays. Obviously, that hasn't been the case here that way. It would've been somebody else's issue, and I don't think that would have been fair.''

He acknowledged that he'll consider other staff changes and "and that will take a little time.''

Ryan is credited with the helping Watson to one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history before he tore his ACL in practice on Nov. 2.

At the time, he was tied with Carson Wentz for most TD passes in the NFL at 19, and had just been named NFL Offensive Player of the Month. He was also AFC Offensive Rookie of the Month for an October in which he set the NFL rookie record for TDs in a month with 16, breaking Dan Marino's mark of 11 from 1983.

With only eight interceptions to go with those 19 TDs, Watson finished his six starts (3-3) with a 103.0 rating, which would be third in the NFL behind Alex Smith and Drew Brees if he weren't on injured reserve.

With Watson starting, the Texans led the NFL in scoring with 30.7 points a game after finishing 28th in 2016. The Texans (4-10) won only one more game after Watson tore the ACL.

Ryan coached in college for a decade, including stints at Columbia and Harvard. He joined the Texans in 2016 as wide receivers coach, helping DeAndre Hopkins to a 954-yard season on 78 receptions, with four TDs.

Before that he spent nine years with the Giants (2007-15), where he helped them to Super Bowls in 2007 and 2011. In New York, he served as offensive quality-control (2007-09), wide receivers (2010-11, 2014-15) and quarterbacks (2012-13) coach.

Under Ryan in 2015, receiver receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tied a club record with 13 TD catches and made the Pro Bowl for the second straight year. He finished second in team history in both receptions (96) and receiving yards (1,450).

In 2014, he helped Beckham become the first Giants player to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in the 58-year history of the award. In 12 games, Beckham set club rookie records with 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also set NFL records for most catches and yards in the first 12 games to start a career.

As Giants QB coach in 2012-13, Ryan helped Eli Manning to this third Pro Bowl season after completing 321 of 536 passes (59.9 percent) for 3,948 yards, 26 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and an 87.2 rating.