After a less than stellar season from an NFC North team that had high expectations, the Cleveland Browns have decided to move in a different direction with coaching. The Browns fired head coach Freddie Kitchens on Sunday following the teams’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals to cap off a 6-10 season
Kitchens was hired as Head Coach after the Ohio based franchise let go of former HC Hue Jackson. Kitchens went from being the Running Backs coach in 2017 to offensive coordinator in 2018 and finally to Head Coach in 2019 due in part to a strong relationship he had with Baker Mayfield.
“I would like to thank Freddie for his dedication and efforts this past season. We are disappointed in our results and feel a change is necessary,” Browns General Manager John Dorsey said in a statement.
The Browns disappointment with the first-year Head Coach was reportedly a surprise to Kitchens. In a phone call with Sports Reporter Ian Rapoport, Kitchens was an “emotional” feeling that he had the support of the Browns organization.
The Browns seemed poised to make a statement coming into this season acquiring Pro Bowl level talents like Jarvis Landry, Kareem Hunt, and Odell Beckham Jr., but they never lived up to the hype. Second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield regressed in 2019 throwing the second-most interceptions (21) of any quarterback this season.
Browns RB Nick Chubb and former Dolphins Receiver Jarvis Landry were both voted to the Pro Bowl this year, but Superstar WR Odell Beckham Jr. was not after a season where he and Baker Mayfield seemingly never got on the same page. Beckham had career lows in receptions, yards, and touchdowns when he’s played at least 12 games.
When things turned from bad to worse in Cleveland, rumors flared that Landry and Beckham Jr. are looking to get out of Cleveland, rumors that the former LSU Tigers teammates deny.