The Browns Fired Freddie Kitchens After Losing To The Bengals To End The Year 6-10

This year was supposed to be different for the Cleveland Browns. Armed with a second-year quarterback in Baker Mayfield, a wealth of skill position options, and plenty of talent on defense, Cleveland was expected to make a leap and become a potential playoff team. That did not happen, though, and as a result, the team will begin searching for a new head coach.

According to Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN, the Browns have opted to fire head coach Freddie Kitchens, who went 6-10 in his one year at the helm.

The report was confirmed by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who spoke over the phone with Kitchens and learned that the coach believed he had the support of the organization.

And eventually, the team announced the news on its official Twitter account.

The decision to fire Kitchens comes after the Browns finished the year on a three-game losing streak, which was capped off on Sunday afternoon, when Cleveland lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 33-23. Kitchens was fast tracked to the head coaching gig, as he was the team’s associate head coach/running backs coach to start last year, then got promoted to offensive coordinator, then got promoted to head coach entering this year.

Kitchens is only 45, so it’s not like this is the end of his coaching career by a long shot, but he appeared to struggle in his first year as an NFL head coach. The Browns’ offense — which, in fairness, was hamstrung by issues on the offensive line — never seemed to live up to the sum of its parts, Mayfield didn’t take the step forward some anticipated, and the team as a whole was among the most penalized in the league. It got so bad that a report indicated that some players went up to players on the Arizona Cardinals when they played and said “come get me.”

As long as the core of this team comes back and its weaker areas are improved, there will be playoff expectations in Cleveland next season. However, Kitchens won’t be there to see them through.