Cleveland Browns rumors: 5 head coaching candidates

Assuming Hue Jackson is fired, here are five candidates to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Hue Jackson appears to have won a power struggle with an analytics-driven Cleveland Browns front office, and John Dorsey was quickly brought in as the new general manager. Owner Jimmy Haslam has professed that Jackson will be back as head coach next year, but ideally Dorsey will be empowered to make that decision.

A 1-30 record over two seasons, and staring at the second 0-16 record in league history, should be plenty enough for Jackson to be fired. And quite frankly, there’s an argument he should already be gone. But a talent-bare roster, which Dorsey is now tasked with bolstering, may give Jackson one more year to lead progress on the field before he’s fired.

But let’s assume Jackson will be fired after Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and yet another head coach will face the task of trying to turn around the Browns. Here are five candidates to step into that difficult position.

5. Kevin Sumlin

Sumlin entered the season firmly on the hot seat at Texas A&M, and a 7-5 record led to his firing before the Aggies earned a bid in the Belk Bowl against Wake Forest on Friday. He was an early candidate to replace Todd Graham at Arizona State, and he briefly surfaced as a candidate at UCF, but Sumlin has been left to enjoy the $10.4 million he is due to collect from Texas A&M within 60 days of his firing in late November.

Sumlin became a potential NFL head coaching candidate on the back of Johnny Manziel’s performance early in his tenure at Texas A&M. But a fade in SEC play (15-17 over his last four seasons) ultimately doomed him, despite a solid overall record in six seasons (51-26).

Sumlin will be at the front of the line for major college openings 11 months from now. But it’s not totally out of the question for an NFL head coaching opportunity to come right now, and the Browns could at least see fit to interview him.