BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens isn’t taking the temperature of how hot his seat is these days.
As the season winds down and enters the final week, questions about Kitchens’ future have moved to the forefront as a season full of hope and expectations circles the drain and is about to end in disappointment.
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam along with executive vice president J.W. Johnson and general manager John Dorsey will have a difficult decision to make in the coming days – stay the course with Kitchens, or begin another coaching search.
“I’m focused on doing my job right now and I think that’s where they want my focus,” Kitchens said Monday. “I have not gotten anything but total support from those guys, and they want me to do my job and that’s what I’m trying to do on an every day basis.”
The Browns were eliminated for the playoffs for a 17th straight year Sunday with a 31-15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The loss also secured the 12th straight losing season for the franchise.
The playoff drought and losing season streaks are both are the longest current active streaks in the league.
Kitchens has not asked for assurance that he will return in 2020.
“I got assurance when I got hired,” Kitchens said. “And, no, I haven’t and won’t. I don’t know how to answer that. I’m doing my job today, and I’ll continue to do the best job I can possibly do.”
Kitchens recognizes he’s not had a perfect season leading the Browns.
“I truly feel like I’m my worst critic,” Kitchens said. “Whether we win or lose, I try to critique myself. I feel like I’ve got people around me that if I ask them a question, they will answer me honestly. A lot of times as the head coach, you can’t get honest feedback and I think that’s been a benefit I have here. I get honest feedback when I ask certain people questions. Every time I go through something I learn from it. My learning progress is continuing to go upward.”
In the loss to the Ravens, mismanagement of the clock by having quarterback Baker Mayfield throw three times allowed Baltimore, who had no timeouts, to get an extra possession and score. Instead of being down 7-6 at half, it was a 14-6 game.
Kitchens acknowledged Monday afternoon if he could have a do-over, he would’ve run the ball to run the clock.
Kitchens is in a unique situation for a first-year head coach, because of the talent he was given, and the expectations that came with the season.
“I would say those questions stem more from you guys asking the questions, and you should, rightly should ask,” Kitchens said. “I’m not trying to say that. It’s just I only concern myself with the job I’m doing and how I get this football team to play well on Sunday. And that’s truly the only thing I worry about. And that’s it. I don’t care about the speculation, I don’t care about anything that’s out of my control, I only care about the things I can control, and that’s how I approach my job today and how I get my team ready to play on Sunday.”
Outside of wins and losses, game and clock management, personnel, communication, penalties, and discipline have all been issues that have flared up regularly this season.
As the Browns contemplate Kitchens’ future, they fight their own history too.
Cleveland has become a car wash for head coaches in recent years.
The Haslams alone have fired four head coaches since buying the team in 2012 and Kitchens would be the fifth coach they would have to replace should they choose to go that route.
“We’ve got a young core here that’s experiencing life in the NFL for the first time,” Kitchens said, “first couple [of] years, navigating through expectations that sometimes the outside puts on you and I think we’ve done a better and better job of that during the course of the year realizing how you temper those expectations. But you’re asking about something that’s out of my control, I’m just trying to do my job.”
