Cleveland Browns fire Freddie Kitchens after one season as head coach

After winning over the Cleveland Browns with his offense in 2018, Freddie Kitchens was fired after just one season as the team’s head coach.

The Cleveland Browns will be undergoing another change in the upcoming offseason, as they have decided to fire head coach Freddie Kitchens after just one season, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen were first with the report.

Kitchens was thrust into the head coaching role after excelling as the offensive play-caller during the second half of the 2018 season. However, it was quickly evident Kitchens was not ready to be head coach and led the Browns to a 6-10 record.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Kitchens believed he had support from the front office and ownership. However, after losing four of the final five games, it became obvious the Browns did not have many other options.

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Kitchens quickly gained the trust of the Browns during his successful run as the interim offensive coordinator. With Baker Mayfield excelling in his offense, Kitchens was believed the best man for the head coaching job because he worked so well with Mayfield.

However, that was not the case in 2018, as Kitchens’ offense sputtered and Mayfield regressed throughout the season. That was the case for the rest of the roster, as the team did not show much development and were being outplayed by teams with not as much talent on their roster.

Throughout Kitchens’ entire rookie season, he struggled to instill discipline into the team. The Browns were one of the league leaders in penalties the entire season, and the penalties typically occurred during critical points of the game.

Kitchens also appeared to have lost the trust of the team at the end of the season. Several times throughout the season players were having arguments with Kitchens on the sideline. Players were also not sticking up for Kitchens when asked if he should remain head coach in 2020.

With the Browns having another head coaching opening, they should have a wide variety of candidates. The Cleveland opening should be one of the most desired because of the amount of talent on the roster, including a young, talented quarterback.

General manager John Dorsey could go with a diverse group of candidates. There are two notable former head coaches available in Mike McCarthy and Ron Rivera. But there are also young coordinators and assistants, as well as college coaches, who appear to be ready for a head coaching job. Browns ownership is also reportedly interested in hiring New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

The Browns will be hiring their 18th full-time head coach in team history, and the ninth full-time head coach since the team returned to Cleveland in 1999. Kitchens is the second Browns head coach to be in the role for only one season.