Cleveland Browns: Possible Choices To Replace Mike Pettine

Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine calls for a fourth down call against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

At this point is just feels like Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine is grasping at straws.  His history of rumored infighting with the front office and ownership over control of the roster, coupled with an unwillingness to commit to Johnny Manziel at quarterback has resulted in pretty much usual turmoil that has come to define this organization.

Now the decision has been made to put Manziel in for the rest of the season, though rumors persist Pettine is no longer a believer in the former 1st round pick and is only doing it to save his job.

In essence this means unless Manziel somehow plays well down the stretch and can win a few games, there is a strong chance both he and Pettine could be gone by the time the 2015 season is over.  Thus the Browns will again have to start over at the two most important positions on a football teams.

That begs the question.  If and when Pettine does go, who does Cleveland replace him with?  Here are some options that make a lot of sense.

Sean Payton

This would be the best possible move to make.  Word out of New Orleans is the Saints don’t plan to let Sean Payton out of his contract, which would mean if he wishes to move on they would likely try to trade him.  The Browns badly need a head coach with experience given how things have gone with first-timers like Pettine and Rob Chudzinski.  Payton is no stranger to rebuilding projects and would bring a winning pedigree with him.

Josh McDaniels

Finding and developing a quarterback must take top priority for Cleveland.  The best way to do that is have a head coach who knows how, which means a top offensive coordinator.  There are few better in the league than Josh McDaniels, and he also brings prior head coaching experience from his brief stint in Denver.  Word is he’s learned a lot since then and is much more prepared for another chance.

Hue Jackson

What may give a man like Hue Jackson a leg up is he has prior experience dealing with an invasive ownership, having spent a brief time as head coach of the Oakland Raiders back when Al Davis was still alive.  That knowledge would help him to navigate the minefield of the Browns situation and still do the job that needs do.  He showed a lot of promise in Oakland before he was unceremoniously fired.