The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
KITCHENS FIRED
Head coach let go after one season on job
Freddie Kitchens thought he would learn from his mistakes in his first year on the job and be a better coach for the Browns in the future.
Team management didn’t have the same vision.
Kitchens was fired around 8 p.m. Dec. 30, about four hours after the Browns lost, 33-23, to the Bengals, who were 1-14 at kickoff.
The Browns lost their last three games, four of their last five, and finished 6-10.
“We thank Freddie for his hard work and commitment to this organization but did not see the success or opportunities for improvement to move forward with him as our head coach,” team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a statement. “Our focus is on hiring an exceptional leader for this football team and we will take a comprehensive approach to this process.
“We are excited about the core players we have to build around and develop and we look forward to bringing in a strong head coach that will put this group of players in the best position to succeed.”
The Redskins and Panthers are each looking for a head coach.
The Cowboys are expected to fire Jason Garrett and the Giants are expected to fire Pat Shurmur.
That means the competition to hire the best head coaches is going to be heated, and which team attracts the best candidate could be determined by which team offers the best chance to win quickly.
Rivera is meeting with the Redskins on Dec. 30 about their vacancy. Other names the Browns might have interest in include former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, former Ohio State head coach Urban
Meyer, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley and Baylor head coach Matt Ruhle.
Expectations for success with the Browns were sky-high after moves general manager John Dorsey made last winter, including trading for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and defensive end Olivier Vernon.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield regressed in his second season from his rookie year of 2018, when he threw 27 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions.
But a coach who believes in Mayfield might still see Cleveland as more attractive than some of the other coaching vacancies.
The Browns also have wide receiver Jarvis Landry plus running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt on offense and Myles Garrett at defensive end, plus cornerbacks Greedy Williams and Denzel Ward as selling points. Hunt is a restricted free agent and Garrett is serving an indefinite suspension for hitting Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph with Rudolph’s helmet on Nov. 14.
“I would like to thank Freddie for his dedication and efforts this past season,” Dorsey said in a statement. “We are disappointed in our results and feel a change is necessary. Freddie is a good man and good football coach. We wish him and his family nothing but success.”
Kitchens met with reporters in Cincinnati after losing to the Bengals and sounded confident he would survive.
“There are several things I could’ve done better and I’ll critique myself and be better,” Kitchens said. “(The) focus is turning toward free agency now, see what we can do and get ready for the draft. It’s a never-ending process and you just move on and keep going.
“I’m not making any excuses at all. But I think I learned during the course of the year so I can be a better version of myself moving forward. That’s the only thing you can do. When something arises, you make the best decision you can and learn from your mistakes … I just do my job. Sometimes it was good enough. Sometimes it wasn’t, but I’ll learn from my mistakes and I feel like they know that.”
Kitchens, 45, worked 13 years as an NFL assistant before being hired by the Browns as head coach. He started last season as the Browns running backs coach/associate head coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator when Hue Jackson was fired as head coach and Todd Haley as offensive coordinator in midseason.