Freddie

Kitchens

New York fired Jason Garrett on Tuesday following yet another terrible offensive showing, and Kitchens is the obvious in-house replacement. Kitchens had a memorably bad season as head coach of the Browns, but he earned that job on the back of a successful run coordinating Cleveland’s offense down the stretch in 2018. Ultimately, this seems like a positive development for Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, and the rest of the offense.

This hire has been expected for roughly a week, but the specifics of the move were unclear. Kitchens will work alongside OC Jason Garrett under head coach Joe Judge, who worked with the former Browns head coach at Mississippi State. Evan Engram is certainly talented enough to take another step forward in 2020, although this is a crowded passing game with plenty of uncertainty entering next season.

It’s unclear what his defined role will be, but it will presumably be as a positional coach under OC Jason Garrett. Kitchens and coach Joe Judge have worked together previously at Mississippi State and Kitchens’ experience as an NFL head coach is likely viewed as a big plus for Judge, who is making a big leap into head coaching. Kitchens hasn’t been considered for notable jobs since his Cleveland firing, so it’s likely that the two parties come to an agreement soon. Judge, Garrett, and Kitchens all being on the same coaching staff is a treat for us all.

It’s the first interest Kitchens has received since his firing last month. Kitchens fared disastrously in his one season atop the Browns’ chain of command, though he’s had success as both a position coach and coordinator and knows Judge from their time together at Mississippi State. A 38-year-old making the leap from specials teams coordinator to head coach, Judge would be wise to surround himself with an experienced staff in East Rutherford.

The Browns didn’t have a choice after what can only be described as a dumpster fire of a 2019. Promoted from RBs coach obscurity to offensive coordinator midway through 2018, Kitchens helped interim coach Gregg Williams guide the long-suffering Browns to a 5-3 finish. By nearly every account, Kitchens did an excellent job mentoring Baker Mayfield and sparking the Browns’ moribund offense. Promoted to head coach over Williams, Kitchens’ progress did not carry over, with the 45-year-old rookie appearing overwhelmed from the jump, struggling with play-calling and leadership in equal measure. By the end of the season, he had publicly feuded with many players, failing to elicit votes of confidence. Taking a chance on Kitchens was an admirable, unconventional gamble, but it resulted in unmitigated disaster. Expect the Browns to search for a steady hand a la Mike McCarthy, or perhaps a Mayfield whisperer like Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley.

La Canfora referred to the Browns’ recent coaching inquiries as “due diligence,” though it’s become increasingly clear that Freddie Kitchens is not long for the head-coaching chair in Cleveland. Out of his depth as a play-caller and similarly inept as a locker-room peace-keeper, Kitchens’ debut season atop the Browns’ coaching chain of command has been an utter disaster from start to finish. We’d be surprised if he survived Black Monday. The seat is just as hot for GM John Dorsey. Among the most dysfunctional organizations in all of sports, the Browns haven’t experienced a winning season since 2007.

The Browns have backed Freddie Kitchens despite a disappointing first season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them move on. Kitchens hasn’t been able to keep the locker room together, with sideline spats with Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry in recent weeks. Baker Mayfield has also regressed under Kitchens, who’s been at the center of Cleveland’s playcalling struggles. Kitchens is very much on the hot seat going into Black Monday. In addition to Kitchens, it sounds like GM John Dorsey’s job isn’t safe.

Tasked with taming big locker-room personalities including outspoken Odell Beckham and Baker Mayfield, the former OC has not had an easy adjustment to the head-coaching chair. Kitchens has looked overmatched at times—his play-calling against the Rams and Patriots earlier this year drew widespread criticism—though Cleveland has quietly won four of its last five while moving within a game of .500. Despite falling well short of offseason expectations (the idea of Cleveland emerging as a Super Bowl contender was probably a tad ambitious), the Browns have no plans to move on from Kitchens, who would be the first to admit he’s not a “finished product.” With upcoming matchups against Arizona, Baltimore (who Cleveland defeated earlier this year) and Cincinnati, the underachieving Browns still have time to make things right in 2019.

It makes sense considering Kitchens’ play-calling is what landed him the Browns’ head-coaching job. That said, he will have a lot more on his plate moving forward, so it is not guaranteed the transition will be smooth. The good news is Kitchens has quality OC Todd Monken to lean on.

Cleveland is staying the course that it was so successful on the back half of this past season, going with Kitchens after he turned around an offense that was not living up to its potential under Hue Jackson and Todd Haley. Kitchens took over play-calling duties in Week 9, and the Browns averaged 23.75 points per game under his direction while Baker Mayfield completely took off with a 19:8 TD:INT mark in those eight games with an YPA average of 8.57. Mayfield’s completion percentage also jumped nearly 12%. If the Browns simply kept Kitchens around as OC, some other team would have just came and hired him next year, so this was the right move. Kitchens now will be tasked with building a coaching staff. Prior to Week 9, Kitchens had never been an offensive coordinator or head coach at any level.