Hue Jackson is favorite to be first NFL coach fired

The oddsamakers are letting us know who they believe will be the first NFL head coach fired this season, and it’s tough not to agree with them.

The Cleveland Browns might finally beon the road to success, but will Hue Jackson be traveling it with them? Cleveland has endured the worst two seasons any team has ever gone through, with the Browns winning just one game during that stretch.

Jackson was on hand for both tours, and now OddsShark has him as the likeliest head coach to be fired first in the upcoming NFL season. After Jackson, the top five are Adam Gase (+750), Vance Joseph (+1000), Marvin Lewis (+1200) and Dirk Koetter (+1200). Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins is also listed at +1200.

So is Jackson the right bet? Smart money says the Browns are bad until they’re good, which would indicate an answer in the affirmative. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an absolutely brutal start to their season, putting Koetter in there as the darkhorse.

Over the first four weeks of the year, Tampa Bay has to play the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears before going into a Week 5 bye. If things have completely come off the rails at that point, Koetter might be let go with former head coach Mike Smith ready to take over on an interim basis.

Next: Best NFL player from each state

The sucker bet here is Lewis. The Cincinnati Bengals are willing to put up with mediocrity more than any other franchise in the league. Cincinnati would have to start something like 1-12 for owner/general manager Mike Brown to even consider making a move.