Before any of the four quarterbacks on the Cleveland Browns’ roster have even gotten the chance to win the starting job, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd thinks the team is already all-in on a replacement for whoever that ends up being – and possibly one for head coach Kevin Stefanski, too.

During Wednesday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the show’s host revealed what he described as “the worst kept secret in the South”: Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is infatuated with Texas quarterback Arch Manning, and he believes the Browns could not only select Manning in the 2026 NFL Draft, but use that selection to lure former Alabama coach Nick Saban to Cleveland. Citing Saban’s connections to both Jimmy Haslam and the Manning family, Cowherd believes Saban could be enticed to return to the NFL by the right quarterback, comparing the situation to the Los Angeles Chargers‘ hiring Jim Harbaugh last offseason.

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While Cowherd certainly isn’t the first person to connect Manning to the Browns, his suggestion that Saban will replace Stefanski, who is just a season removed from winning his second NFL Coach of the Year award, is a new one.

Hear Cowherd’s full reasoning here:

Saban does have a personal history with the Browns, as he served as the defensive coordinator on Bill Belichick’s staff in Cleveland from 1991 to 1994. It’s unclear, however, if the seven-time National Championship-winning coach wants to return to the sidelines at all, especially in the NFL; his only previous experience as an NFL head coach, a two-year stint with the Dolphins in 2005-06, resulted in a 15-17 record and zero playoff appearances. Saban began his phenomenal run with the Crimson Tide immediately after leaving Miami.

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While the Browns do hold two picks in the first round of next year’s draft, numerous reports this offseason have indicated that Manning is likely to remain at Texas beyond 2025. While there’s plenty of hype surrounding the former five-star recruit, he has started just two games for the Longhorns and thrown 95 passes to this point. Manning has two years of eligibility left after this season.

Regardless of how much Cowherd believes Cleveland may like the redshirt sophomore, the team may have to look elsewhere next spring if they’re determined to get their quarterback of the future.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Colin Cowherd says Browns Arch Manning and Nick Saban next year