Browns fire Kitchens after loss
The Cleveland Browns have fired coach Freddie Kitchens after a disheartening season that didn’t come close to meeting expectations.
Kitchens was let go Sunday night, just hours after the Browns were beaten by the lowly Cincinnati Bengals (2-14) to finish 6-10 and miss the playoffs for the 17th consecutive year.
Earlier, Kitchens held out hope he would be back for a second season, saying after the 33-23 loss in Cincinnati, “I’m going to show up tomorrow [Monday] and do my job.”
But owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam decided one season was enough and parted ways with Kitchens, who was a surprising hire a year ago because he had no previous head coaching experience.
His successful eight-game stretch as the team’s offensive coordinator to end 2018 had sent his stock soaring.
Kitchens was plagued by numerous mistakes in his rookie season, with game management and an inability to get the offense rolling among his notable flaws.
Kitchens is the fifth coach fired since 2012 by the Haslams, who have shown little patience in a failed attempt to resurrect one of the league’s proudest franchises.
Patriots
New England’s latest setback could effect its prospects of repeating as Super Bowl champions. The Dolphins dropped the Patriots into the wild-card playoff round when Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds remaining for a stunning 27-24 victory. New England (12-4) will play in the opening weekend of the postseason for the first time since 2009. The Patriots never have made the Super Bowl while playing in the wild-card round. They will face Tennessee (9-7).
Redskins
Ron Rivera will meet with Washington to discuss its head coaching vacancy. Agent Frank Bauer confirmed the former Carolina Panthers coach will visit the Redskins (3-13) Monday. Rivera coached the Panthers the past nine seasons and took them to a Super Bowl before being fired this month.
Panthers
Christian McCaffrey became the third player in NFL history to record 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season after coming up just short last year. McCaffrey reached that milestone Sunday, joining Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk in that elite club. McCaffrey finished the season with 2,392 yards from scrimmage, which ranks third in NFL history behind Chris Johnson and Faulk.