Cleveland Browns: Freddie Kitchens has officially lost the team

It has been a long, tough season for the Cleveland Browns. By all reports, head coach Freddie Kitchens has lost the locker room.

Freddie Kitchens was named head coach of the Cleveland Browns on January 12, 2019. In less than a year’s worth of time, Kitchens has gone from hero to zero.

Kitchens was riding high after an impressive eight game run as offensive coordinator last season. Garnering the respect of players with his fresh and innovative ideas on offense, quarterback Baker Mayfield even publicly stumped for him to get the head coaching  job.

Fast forward to right now and everybody is miserable. The Browns are all but eliminated from making the playoffs as Mayfield has struggled and the offense lacks the chemistry and cohesion that it had last season.

Frustration within the locker room is starting to reach a boil as this December is starting to feel Cleveland Browns December’s of year’s past. There seems to be a new and alarming report coming from sources on a daily basis.

Players are being left off the active roster with no reason given. The latest player, tight end David Njoku, said this of his surprise benching:

"“It is what it is. I can’t really say anything upon it because it wasn’t my request, so I’ve just got to keep going,” he said."

Reports of players saying “come get me” are being told every single day. The latest coming from NFL Networks Aditi Kinkhabwala:

Safety Damrious Randall gave a classic no answer when asked if players still believe in Freddie Kitchens. Receiver Jarvis Landry let Kitchens have a piece of his mind on the sideline Sunday afternoon in Arizona. And running back Kareem Hunt is openly questioning whether players are giving 100 percent effort on every play.

Not to mention that the defense totally gave up in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game as they let Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals march down the field uncontested for an easy score.

Add all this together and it is evident that Freddie Kitchens has completely lost the locker room.

Play-calling miscues and clock management problems are common issues with first year head coaches. They can be learned and forgiven over time. Losing the faith and respect of the football team is an issue that can not be forgiven or undone.

Jimmy Haslam and John Dorsey have a tough decision to make. They believed in and hired Kitchens less than a year ago. While nobody wants to start over, again, the wheels have completely gone off the rails in Berea and a change in the head coaching position is probably becoming a reality at this point.