Cleveland Browns News: Freddie Kitchens finally regrets infamous shirt, kind of
By Randy Gurzi
Freddie Kitchens was defiant when first asked about his ‘Pittsburgh started it’ shirt, but the Cleveland Browns coach is now changing his tune — kind of
Was the shirt worn by Freddie Kitchens a big deal? No, not really. Did it motivate the Steelers as they prepared for the rematch with the Cleveland Browns? No, probably not. Should Kitchens have worn it? No, he shouldn’t have.
All those statements can be true. As a head coach of an NFL team, wearing something such as a ‘Pittsburgh started it’ t-shirt isn’t the best move. Sure, everyone will shrug off the ‘it’s a bad look’ cliche but there’s a lot of truth to that.
A coach is supposed to set the tone for a team and when he does something that takes all the attention off the team and their performance, it’s just unnecessary. And Kitchens now admits that. Unless he doesn’t.
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Kitchens finally expressed some disappointment that the shirt but then quickly backtracked and said he didn’t think it gave their opponent any motivation.
That story and more can be found in today’s Daily Dawg Tags.
Cleveland Browns News
"“Yes, of course,” he replied. “If that’s what they take as motivation, of course, I’m disappointed. I know Mike [Tomlin] very well. They’re motivated by more than just a T-shirt. We had a lot on the line there for that game, and I don’t think that T-shirt put them over the top. Now that’s being strictly honest for you.”"
It’s interesting how Freddie Kitchens is handling all of this. There’s no other head coach who would have worn that shirt. Whether you think it’s a big deal or not, he’s allowed this to become a thing and that’s an issue.
"“I’m not against firing coaches. When Jackson was fired by the Browns after 2 1/2 seasons, I wrote that no coach ever deserved it more. But usually, if you fire a coach after one season, it just shows that you’re the type of franchise that finds it acceptable to fire a coach after one season.”"
Lesmerises tries to bring some reason to the table here and he’s right. The Browns need to figure out if this thing can be fixed or not. Firing a coach after one year is acceptable if you deem there’s no way he can be the guy. These final four games will be big for Kitchens as he needs to show some growth to prove he can develop into a consistent coach. So far, he hasn’t shown that.
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