The Cleveland Browns finished the 2019 season with a dismal 6-10 record. They need to fire head coach Freddie Kitchens.
This was supposed to be Cleveland’s year.
Okay, so maybe fans got carried away when they said that signing Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt made the Browns legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But the expectations for this team were certainly higher than finishing 6-10 and No. 3 in the AFC North.
There is talent on this team — QB Baker Mayfield, WR Jarvis Landry, WR Odell Beckham Jr., RB Nick Chubb, RB Kareem Hunt. And while the Baltimore Ravens have looked like the best team in football for most the season, the Cincinnati Bengals have been the worst team in football and the Pittsburgh Steelers have gone through a lot of struggles. Certainly, the Browns should have been competing for an AFC Wild Card slot and the No. 2 team in the division.
But after a Week 17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns are going home empty-handed. Their season is over. And if they want that to change next year, the first change they need to make is firing Freddie Kitchens.
Following the coaching shake-up midway through the 2018 season, Freddie Kitchens was named the Browns’ offensive coordinator. The Browns finished the 2018 season 7-8-1, going 5-3 with Kitchens as the offensive coordinator, and Kitchens got a lot of credit for the improvement. He was promoted to the head coaching role ahead of the 2019 season.
But where Kitchens was praised for his work as an offensive coordinator, he has been blamed for many of the problems in Cleveland this season. He insisted on managing the offense even when it was clear that wasn’t working and he’s been criticized for poor game management. The Browns’ 6-10 finish is actually a downgrade from last season, when they finished 7-8-1.
The Browns have too much talent on their team to be watching the playoffs from home. If they want that to change next season, they’ll need to have a new leader at the helm of their team.