Freddie Kitchens seat heating up as Cleveland Browns head coach continues to struggle

Freddie Kitchens is 2-3 thus far as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and may be sweating some as his seat has started to warm up

After five games played in the 2019 season, it’s become clear that the Cleveland Browns aren’t the team we expected them to be. Sitting at 2-3 following a complete dismantling at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland finds themselves with plenty of blame to pass around.

The offensive line has struggled to protect Baker Mayfield while Mayfield has also held the ball far too long and continues to make bad decisions when he does let it go. In their 31-3 loss on Monday Night Football, he was especially careless with the ball and went 8-of-22 passing with no touchdowns and three turnovers.

Defensively, they were just as bad as the 49ers carved them up to the tune of 275 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Cleveland also had a turnover on special teams and once again finished with more penalties than their opponent.

While there is blame to go around, when a team struggles in so many facets of the game, it all falls on the head coach. In this case, that would be rookie shot-caller Freddie Kitchens who came in with a lot of hype but seems to be in over his head, especially when compared to someone such as Kyle Shanahan who put on a clinic on the opposite side of Kitchens.

As a rookie coach, there’s bound to be games like this where Kitchens and his staff struggle. However, when so many are piling up this quickly, there’s no way the coach can’t begin to feel some heat.

Kitchens took this job in the offseason and wasn’t given the same expectations as previous coaches in Cleveland. He wasn’t inheriting a team looking for a single win to show progress, but instead was made captain of a ship that was supposed to sail among the league’s elite.

Not only has that not happened, but the next couple of games are downright daunting for Freddie and his team. The Browns are home against the Seattle Seahawks and then head to Foxborough to play the world champion New England Patriots on the road.

Right now, it’s still too early to say Kitchens status as head coach is in question. But you do have to consider the fact that team owner Jimmy Haslam wanted a more experienced coach and has an extensive history of stepping in when he shouldn’t.

If Cleveland is unable to get a win over Seattle or New England, Haslam might start to grow impatient, as he has so many times in the past.

That means, fair or not, the seat currently occupied by Freddie Kitchens is getting hotter by the minute. And he needs to find a way to cool things down of his tenure may not last as long as anticipated.