The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kitchens choosy in forming his staff
New coach explains how he wants to develop relationships with his assistants and players
Some good assistant coaches might have been swept out the front door of the Browns training complex when Freddie Kitchens was hired as head coach, but that is a cold reality of the business.
Kitchens wasn’t officially named head coach until Jan. 14, even though he was selected for the job on Jan. 9. In the five days in between, defensive coordinator/interim head coach Gregg Williams, special teams coordinator Amos Jones, offensive line coach Bob Wylie, tight ends coach Jerry Seamon, quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese and linebackers coach Blake Williams were among the assistants fired.
Excluding Blake Williams, son of Gregg Williams, the assistants fired were Hue Jackson guys. Not all were around for the entire 3-36-1 Jackson era before Jackson was fired as head coach on Oct. 29 after 2½ seasons, but like an apartment owner giving his dwelling a new coat of paint for the next renter, Kitchens wants his own coaching staff.
“Moving forward, I have to be comfortable in all aspects that things are getting done the way I want to get them done,” Kitchens said at his introductory news conference.
“You have to create buyin with this, and how do you create buy-in? You create buy-in by developing relationships.
“Once you develop relationships, you’ve got to develop trust and once you develop trust, you’re able to have difficult conversations about difficult situations, and then you learn that those are the times that the player gets better. In the meantime, hopefully the person gets better as well.”
Chris Jones, whose connection with Kitchens goes back to 1997 when he was a graduate assistant at Alabama and Kitchens quarterbacked the Crimson Tide, has been added to the Browns’ coaching staff with the title of Senior Defensive Specialist. Jones resigned as head coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League to take the job with the Browns.
Jones coached in the CFL from 2002 to 2019 until he answered Kitchens’ call for an interview on Jan. 15. Jones helped four different teams win the Grey Cup – the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl. The Roughriders were 12-6 in 2018 before losing a semifinal playoff game to the Toronto Argonauts.
“We are proud of what Chris came in and accomplished through his three seasons as general manager and head coach,” Roughriders president Craig Reynolds said in a statement. “His work obviously didn’t go unnoticed and we congratulate him on his opportunity in the National Football League and thank him for his contribution to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.”
Al Holcomb, the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 under Steve Wilks, will coach the Browns linebackers. Holcomb will also coordinate the run defense. Wilks is now the Browns defensive coordinator.
Ryan Lindley, hired at Kitchens’ suggestion midseason to coach the Browns running backs, was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Other positions are being finalized.
Here is a brief assessment from Kitchens and general manager John Dorsey on some key coaching replacements:
• Kitchens on Wilks, the Cardinals head coach in 2018 and the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator in 2017: “(Steve Wilks) has a tremendous football acumen, is very diverse in his ability to use personnel. I like guys that strive to be great and I think that Steve does that. I also like guys that strive to have an environment of learning and strive to have an environment of listening, being together and being a part of a team.”
• Dorsey on new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who will not be calling plays for the Browns. Kitchens will continue in that role. Monken was the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the last four years: “I think he’ll mesh with what Freddie’s doing, but I think what is really interesting about this is that’s going to be a great offensive room to be in, some of the ideas that’ll be generated because Todd is very creative with a lot of his offensive package stuff. I would love to sit in that meeting on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, just watch them install a game plan because they’re both very creative.”
Kitchens said the playbook he and Monken will use to design game plans in 2019 will be the same one he used when he was offensive coordinator in the second half of 2018.
The Browns averaged 23.8 points a game with Kitchens running the offensive.
• Dorsey on new offensive line coach James Campen: “He’s an incredibly experienced offensive line coach. He is ‘We’ instead of ‘I.’ He’s a great developer of young offensive linemen. He’s a good evaluator of talent. I see him and Freddie hitting it off unbelievably. They’re like minded in how they approach the game.”
Dorsey as a linebacker and Campen as a center were teammates on the 1989 Packers. Campen was the Packers offensive line coach from 2007 to 2018.