Hue Jackson surfaced from the chilly water soaked and smiling before he raised both arms in triumph.

Cleveland’s coach hasn’t had many moments to celebrate during two miserable seasons with the Browns http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/aaron-jones-jersey , so this felt like a victory over the dreaded Steelers.

A very wet, wonderful win.

Jackson took a dive into Lake Erie on Friday , delivering on a promise with a dip he hopes can help cleanse the bumbling Browns, who have gone 1-31 in two seasons with Jackson in charge.

Clad in a T-shirt and shorts, Jackson jogged into the surf holding his wife Michelle’s hand before submerging himself. He popped up, pulled up his sagging swim trunks – but not before his backside was exposed – and then splashed along with owner Dee Haslam and more than 150 team employees who turned out to support him and raise money for his charity.

”No more freakin’ losing,” Jackson hollered. ”Let’s go!”

Jackson’s plunge had been in the works for months. After the Browns went 1-15 in his first season, Jackson vowed that if the team finished that poorly again, he would jump into one of the Great Lakes. And when Cleveland staggered to a 0-16 record last season, becoming only the second team in NFL history to lose all 16 games, Jackson had no choice but to stick to his words.

”This is not something I do every day, but I made a statement, and I have to back it up,” Jackson said. ”I came here two years ago to win, and I’m going to win here. I truly believe that. But I think when you make statements, you’ve got to stand by them.”

With a TV news helicopter hovering over Huntington Beach, and an NFL Films crew recording his every move on land and sea Elias Lindholm Jersey , Jackson spent several minutes in the unusually warm 72-degree water.

After returning to shore, Jackson expressed relief to have it behind him.

This was a chance to wash off the filth from two painful, forgettable seasons.

”It feels good that it’s over with,” Jackson said. ”It’s over and done with. The page is turned, and you can see it’s not just me, it’s our organization. They are the reason why I do what I do, and our players and our fans. I know our fans have been very disappointed. I get it. But that page is closed. Hopefully they’ll give us a chance to earn back their respect, their trust, their affection for our football team and this city, because we plan on doing something special.”

Before he headed into the water, Jackson became emotional while speaking to the team’s employees. He pledged to donate $100 for every Browns co-worker who joined him, and Dee and Jimmy Haslam matched him, raising $30,000 for his foundation which raises awareness and fights human trafficking.

Jackson was fortunate to keep his job following two seasons, but Dee Haslam said the team remains confident he’ll get the Browns turned around.

”Hue’s a great coach, a great leader of men,” she said. ”The last couple years have been terrible for us and been really terrible for our fans. We take that responsibility and feel horrible about it because Northeast Ohio and the fans of the Cleveland Browns deserve so much more.”

As he prepares for his third season Kevin Hogan Jersey , Jackson said his days of making predictions are over.

”I’m not making any more guarantees,” he said. ”I’m not making any more promises.”

—

Seventy-two-year-old Susan Collesidis was never a football fan until she heard Carson Wentz talk about his faith.

Then she was hooked on the Philadelphia Eagles.

When Wentz found out his newest fan was fighting an advanced stage of cancer, he sent her an encouraging message with inspirational Bible verses.

”How much joy I get from watching him and his team play supernatural football every week,” she said after reading it.

Two weeks later, Susan Collesidis lost her battle with cancer the night before Thanksgiving.

”The message meant so much to Susan because she admired Carson as a person and believer more than a football player,” her son-in-law Doug Horton said. ”He’s the reason she started caring about sports and she couldn’t wait to watch the Eagles every week.”

Wentz isn’t playing in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots because he tore his ACL in Week 14. But backup quarterback Nick Foles is also a ”brother in Christ” and one of the leaders in a locker room filled with guys who have formed a strong bond because of their faith.

”It truly is a brotherhood,” Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz said. ”Those guys are holding me accountable. Off the field, I’m holding them accountable. We truly care about each other, we truly care about the growth that each individual has in the word, as believers, as well as friends and family. There are a lot of guys who are truly trying to boost me up and keep me focused on the main thing, which is obviously the word …”

Christian players openly expressing their faith is nothing new in the NFL: Reggie White, Kurt Warner, Tim Tebow, Ray Lewis and Russell Wilson among many others. But these Eagles are a unique, close-knit group.

”There is a stronger connection here,” said defensive end Steven Means http://www.officialsharks.com/authentic-adidas-logan-couture-jersey , who played for three other teams. ”It’s another level because we push each other in certain areas that we are flawed at and open ourselves up to each other. We text each other throughout the day making sure that everybody is on the right path and doing the right thing.”

Torrey Smith played with Lewis on the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in 2012. They had a solid core of Christian players who used their faith for inspiration during their journey. Smith also spent two years in San Francisco before the wide receiver came to Philadelphia this season. He said it’s different here.

”I’ve been lucky to be part of three organizations that do have a very strong Christian presence,” Smith said. ”The difference here is a lot of younger guys lead.”

It starts with Wentz, the face of the franchise.

Wentz went on a mission trip to Haiti last May with former teammate Jordan Matthews and a group led by Kyle Horner, lead pastor of The Connect Church. He delivered a sermon a month later at a church back home in North Dakota and launched his Audience of One Foundation in July. Wentz and several teammates even created a devotional video series for the Bible app.

Four days before the season opener, Wentz and teammates Trey Burton and Stefen Wisniewski spoke at a faith event in front of a crowd of 2,000 people who sat in the rain for a couple hours to hear their favorite players share their testimony.

But before he had an MVP-caliber season and led the Eagles from worst to first, Wentz received plenty of criticism from some media and fans because he openly talked about his faith on social media .

He wasn’t deterred.

”Jesus was persecuted everywhere he went,” Wentz said. ”So if Jesus, who is our ultimate example, endured that, then I can endure a couple tweets. I can endure a little riff-raff here and there.”

A large group of players meet for Bible study on Thursdays and hold a study for couples on Mondays. They get together for prayer and devotionals the night before games. They’ve even gathered for baptisms in some unusual places.

In October 2016, Burton and Pastor Ted Winsley baptized six players in a cold tub at the team’s practice facility.

”It was crazy,” said Winsley, the team’s longtime chaplain. ”The guys were just hungry, wanting their lives changed.”

Before a Thursday night game at Carolina last October, second-year pro Marcus Johnson was baptized in a hotel pool.

”Since I’ve come to Philly, I’ve grown in my faith so much Authentic Justin Houston Jersey ,” Johnson said. ”As a rookie last year coming in, you always hear about the locker room and how dysfunctional it can be and people playing for money and this and that, but when I got here, everyone was so supportive and I knew it was something special.”

Having strong faith doesn’t make players immune to adversity, but it helps them deal with it. The Eagles (15-3) have overcome numerous injuries to important players on their way to winning the NFC championship.

Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, running back/return specialist Darren Sproles, special-teams captain Chris Maragos and kicker Caleb Sturgis sustained season-ending injuries along with Wentz and Jordan Hicks, the playmaking linebacker and quarterback on defense.

Instead of anger and resentment, they’ve leaned on their faith to maintain a positive attitude.

”Character is always revealed in times of testing,” said Horner, who pastors several players. ”For these men, Christ is not a crutch to lean upon, he is the foundation which their life is built upon. For them, faith is not an intellectual acknowledgement of truth, but a day-by-day expression of their love for God. This is where it all starts.& San Francisco 49ers Elite Jerseys