3 Coaches Browns Should Hire to Replace Kevin Stefanski in 2025

2. Robert Saleh, Free Agent

I think Robert Saleh is a good NFL head coach but like everyone, he needs things to be going right offensively in order to thrive as a coach.

Saleh, for his part, put together a dominant defense in his handful of years with the New York Jets, and that's what everyone expected from him. The high-energy defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers did for the Jets exactly what he did for the 49ers. He oversaw a dominant defense and helped tremendously in player development.

But the Jets had zero tolerance for underachieving of any kind at the start of this season, and they moved on from Saleh after his team sputtered to a 2-3 start (which is now 2-4 after their latest loss to the Buffalo Bills).

Despite the failures of Saleh as head coach of the New York Jets, he might be exactly the type of culture-changing head coach the Cleveland Browns need. The Browns have so many pieces and weapons defensively for Saleh to keep that unit playing at a high level, but he's also the type of candidate that I think you can give time to build something.

The Jets, over time, provided Saleh with a great situation on paper. But he got five games with Aaron Rodgers.

If Saleh were to be hired by the Browns, I think they could move on from Deshaun Watson and start fresh at the quarterback position, either with another veteran to right the ship, a rookie, or a combination of the two.