New Coach Kitchens Promises More Up Than Down With Browns

Five days after the news leaked, Cleveland Browns General Manager John Dorsey Monday introduced Freddie Kitchens as the new head coach of the Browns, their ninth since 1999 when the franchise returned to the NFL.

"He's a real unifier of men and people," Dorsey said of Kitchens, who became the team's interim offensive coordinator midway through the 2018 season. "Freddie did an outstanding job the last eight games of the season. He galvanized the offense, he put players in position to make plays."

The Browns also interviewed their former interim head coach Gregg Williams and popular candidates like New England's Brian Flores (reportedly in line to be the next head coach in Miami) and Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.

At Monday's press conference, Dorsey said the qualities that separated Kitchens from the other candidates were his "vision for the future of this organization, belief in trust, and the team effort (and) the ability to be collaborative."

After a 2-5-1 start led to the firing of head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley, the Browns finished the season 5-3 under Williams and Kitchens. Quarterback Baker Mayfield set the rookie record for touchdown passes with 27 - 19 of them in eight games under Kitchens. 

The Alabama native and former Crimson Tide quarterback says his first meeting with the offense after being named coordinator in October wasn't about football, and he attributed that to their success late in the season.

"I asked them to trust me, that I would always do what's best for them," Kitchens said. "And they believed me, and that's what ultimately (made a difference). I mean, we weren't calling any different plays."

The Browns finished 7-8-1, their best record since 2007.

"Since 1999 I understand and I relish the fact that there's been more down than up, but that ends today," Kitchens said. "I promise you that."

Kitchens said he understands that after going 0-16 in 2017, the Browns made progress this season. But Kitchens stressed that mediocrity is not the goal.

"It drives me crazy that people were happy with 7-8-1," Kitchens said. "It drives me literally crazy, and if I was in a different setting, my vocabulary would demonstrate that."

Kitchens Part of Larger Coaching Re-shuffle

The team also announced several key hires for the coaching staff. Todd Monken, who helped coach Tampa Bay to the NFL's top passing offense in 2018, will become offensive coordinator, but Kitchens will continue to call plays.

Steve Wilks, fired after one year as Arizona's head coach, will be the new defensive coordinator. Wilks was defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2017.

Earlier in the season and again at Monday's press conference, Kitchens said he believes no one is truly ready to become a head coach, likening it to becoming a parent. But he said his goal is to improve every day.

"I told Baker this, I told you guys this, I told him, 'You're never going to be a finished product,'" Kitchens said. "I'm never going to be a finished product as a person or as a coach. But I know how to continue to try to get better and I know I have the resources to do that."

Dorsey also confirmed that Kitchens will report to him, a departure from the past when the head coach and the GM each would report directly to ownership.

"There's a . . . traditional structure model in place, and sometimes I think that's best," Dorsey said. "But at the end of the day, Freddie and I are going to make (an) unbelievable amount of decisions together in unison because we are such like-minded in our thinking."

Kitchens also mentioned that he's seen news articles and commentary online suggesting that he wasn't a popular choice as head coach, and thanked Dee and Jimmy Haslam, the team's owners, for believing in him. Asked if he thought he was popular with Cleveland fans, Kitchens said he probably was because the team was able to get some wins in the second half of the season.

"I know I hear from my kids at school that everybody wants that orange Dawg Pound sweatshirt," Kitchens said, refering to the hoodie that became his trademark on the sidelines. "So, I don't know. Hell, I may be popular because of the sweatshirt. I don't know."