Cleveland Browns: Early potential head coach hires if Hue Jackson is fired

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson keeping his job after a winless seasons was a surprise to many. If the Browns let go of Jackson at some point in 2018, who are potential options to replace him?

Jimmy Haslam has not been shy of letting go of head coaches in his time as the owner of the Cleveland Browns. His decision to retain head coach Hue Jackson at the end of last season after one win in two seasons was a surprise.

Even after hiring John Dorsey as general manager, Haslam decided to keep Jackson instead of letting his new general manager pick his coach – which is typically how the process works.

Entering the 2018 season, there will be a lot of pressure on Jackson to win games. And he will need to win games early on.

If the Browns do not win a game in the first five or six weeks of the season, there is a good possibility that Jackson will be fired mid-season.

With a re-tooled roster and an experienced quarterback in Tyrod Taylor under center, Jackson no longer has the excuse of not having a talented enough roster to win games.

Jackson also will not be the offensive coordinator in 2018, so he can have more overall focus on the entire team during the game. Any simple game management mistakes will now look much worse on Jackson.

So if the Browns do decide to fire Jackson at some point this season, who are some coaches they could look at hiring?

We look at three different options for the Browns: the coach most likely to take over immediately, Dorsey’s likely go-to guy to hire, and the very unlikely but interesting option.

Here’s a look at three potential candidates to take over the head coaching duties that could interest Haslam and Dorsey.