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Odds on Next Browns Coach Favor OU’s Lincoln Riley

Sascha Paruk

by Sascha Paruk in NFL Football

Updated Apr 22, 2020 · 7:32 AM PDT

Former Browns HC Hue Jackson looking at his playsheet.
Now that Hue Jackson (L) has been fired, sportsbooks have prop bets on who will replace him as Browns coach.
  • The Browns have finally fired Hue Jackson, who went 3-36-1 in two-plus years with the team
  • Who will be Cleveland’s next head coach?
  • The odds at online betting sites list Lincoln Riley as the favorite, with Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh as longshots

Watch your back, Terry Francona! Head coaches in Cleveland are dropping like flies. Less than 48 hours after the Cavaliers fired Tyronn Lue, the Browns finally put Hue Jackson out of his misery.


Joining Jackson on the chopping block was offensive coordinator Todd Haley, while defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was named interim HC.

It’s not much of a surprise that Jackson (an offensive-minded HC) and Haley were ousted and Williams promoted. After Week 8, the 2-5-1 Browns rank 26th overall in DVOA per Football Outsiders, but they are 30th on offense and 2nd on defense.

Now the question becomes: who will captain this ever-floundering Cleveland ship in 2019?

Ownership will be looking for someone who can develop 2018 first-overall pick Baker Mayfield into the franchise QB the Browns have been missing since the days of Bernie Kosar. So the name at the top of the favorites should come as no surprise …

Next Browns Full-Time Head Coach Odds

Coach Current Position Odds (Oct. 29)
Lincoln Riley Oklahoma Sooners HC +200
Zac Taylor LA Rams QB coach +200
John DeFilippo Minnesota Vikings OC +650
Brian Flores New England Patriots LB coach +750
Dan Campbell New Orleans Saints Assistant HC/T +750
Dave Toub Kansas City Chiefs Assistant HC +1000
Sean McVay LA Rams HC +1200
Bill Belichick New England Patriots HC +1400
Jim Harbaugh Michigan Wolverines HC +1400
Gregg Williams Cleveland Browns Interim HC +1600

Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley worked with Mayfield at Oklahoma, first as his OC and QB coach (2015 & 2016) and then as head coach in 2017, the year Mayfield (a former walk-on) won the Heisman. But there’s more to Riley’s resume than just “Mayfield whisperer.” This past offseason, nearly every team in the NFL contacted Riley to learn more about his prolific Oklahoma offense.


If Riley wants to be an NFL head coach next season, he’ll be an NFL head coach next season.

When asked about the Browns job, Riley was predictably disinterested.

But given that his OU team is in the midst of a quest for a fourth straight Big 12 title and a second straight College Football Playoff berth, there’s not much else he could reasonably say.

Zac Taylor

The name next to Riley at the top of the odds won’t be familiar to casual fans, but Zac Taylor is quickly turning himself into a viable HC candidate. Still just 35 years old, the former Nebraska pivot already has experience as an interim NFL OC (Dolphins, 2015), worked wonders with the Rams’ receiving corps in 2017, and is now helping Jared Goff build off his strong sophomore season.

He’s a nice combination of (relative) youth, creativity, and experience. Every team wants to find the next Sean McVay, and Taylor’s resume reads like a diet version.

Sean McVay, Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh? No, No, No.

Speaking of Sean McVay, you may be asking yourself why on earth his name is on the list above, given that he’s currently leading the juggernaut Rams to a perfect season. Your guess is as good as mine. He’s not leaving LA for Cleveland next year. Do not bet on him at +1200.

While we’re on the subject of bad bets, don’t wager on Jim Harbaugh or Bill Belichick, either.

I’ve already written about why Harbaugh will be back at Michigan next year.

As for Belichick, he did coach the original Browns (i.e. the team that relocated to Baltimore) from 1991 to 1995, and it would be a feel good story if he returned to the city and brought the Browns back to glory, but he’s more entrenched in Massachusetts than the letter R. He’s been the Pats HC and de facto GM since 2000. The Patriots are like a mortal child he raised up into demigod. You don’t abandon that for Cleveland

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