Hue Jackson Takes His Talents to the Board Room

Hue Jackson is a native of Los Angeles. The future NFL head coach of the Cleveland Browns was a quarterback at Dorsey High School and also played basketball. In college, Jackson played quarterback at Pacific in the 80s. As the quarterback at the University of the Pacific from 1985 to 1986, Jackson threw for 2,544 yards and 19 touchdowns, Jackson was born to be within the game of football and led others.    

After college, he went straight into his coaching career. In 1987 he began coaching at his alma mater Pacific as a Graduate Assistant, wide receivers, running backs & special team’s coach. Since starting his career three decades ago, Jackson has coached across the country. He has held essentially every offensive job there is in the college and NFL ranks. He last served as a special assistant to the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018.   

On April 15, 2021, Jackson joined Tennessee State University’s coaching staff as the new offensive coordinator for the 2021 season, under new Eddie George. The Tigers finished with a 5-6 record and an average of 19.7 points per game for the 2021 season. Over the winter Jackson was hired to be the 14th head coach of the. It marks his first time serving as a head coach in college football.

The coach now has taken his wealth of knowledge of the NFL and football business into another avenue outside the sport. Jackson has now partnered with Grand Leyenda Tequila. The Tequila is the only outright African American Owned Tequila company in the United States. “I’ve taken the blueprint of coaching and teamwork to make this dream work. We’ve infused it into our business model. It’s all about the people you serve just like coaching. Find out what the customer needs and find a way to make it happen. Just like helping a player get better.” 

The current CEO, Derrell Spann, has vast experience over his career. He has led in development, marketing programs, and general business solutions resulting in increased company exposure, customer traffic, and sales for several brands. Those brands include Beam Global Wines and Spirits, Brown Forman, Moet Hennessy, Remy Martin, Diageo, and Seagram’s. In November 2013, Mr. Spann first joined Grand Leyenda Tequila as president. Two years later, he purchased the brand outright from the original owner Jesus Santoyo. Santoyo would leave for other ventures. Grand Leyenda Tequilas are Estate Grown and follow a natural fermentation process.

“What made me want to get involved was Derrell Spann. At the time, he was the only black tequila owner in the world. He shared his vision, and it was what I wanted to hear.” Jackson said. “After tasting the brand, I was sold. As of today, four others in this space are black-owned now. The Rock, Michael Jordyn, LeBron James, P Diddy, and I hear Kevin Hart is launching soon. We would love to line our tequila up against any of them. It’s important to succeed because you want to be great at what you do. We’re chasing perfection”

Grand Leyenda Tequilas are organically certified. These ultra-premium tequilas receive their taste from the world’s finest organic harvesting. There is no yeast or preservatives added. Jackson wants to continue to bring a quality taste to the tequila space that’s smooth and healthy. Grand Leyenda Tequilas wants everyone that tastes their brand to walk away with an organic experience while drinking responsibly. By supporting the only outright Black-owned company hopefully, the Tequila can help create more opportunities for meaningful ownership of other alcohol brands and build generational wealth.