Let me preface this by making this statement: what is going on with the Cleveland Browns this season is not all Freddie Kitchens' fault.
There are 53 guys on that roster who are going out there and playing every Sunday, and they deserve just as much accountability—if not more—than Kitchens for the Browns' failures through the first seven games of 2019.
But we also can't ignore the elephant in the room, and it's that Kitchens does not seem to have control over this team.
For starters, Cleveland accumulated 13 penalties during its loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Thirteen. The Browns are also the most penalized club in the NFL, averaging a hefty 10 flags per game.
No other team is even averaging nine.
Of course, whenever a squad is getting flagged that much, it goes back to coaching, because it means the players lack discipline.
Kitchens has also made a plethora of head-scratching decisions throughout the season, and while you can chalk some of them up to “first-year head coach,” a handful of them have also just been odd regardless of Kitchens' tenure.
And let's face it: Kitchens probably was not ready for this job.
Yes, the 44-year-old has been a coach in the NFL since 2006, but he had not been a coordinator until midway through last season, when he was promoted from the Browns' running backs coach to offensive coordinator.
So, in less than a year, Kitchens went from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to head coach.
And why was Kitchens named the head coach?
Because Baker Mayfield, who had just completed his rookie season and should not have had that type of clout as a result, wanted him, and John Dorsey granted his wish.
I understand that Mayfield had a terrific rookie campaign, but allowing a quarterback entering his second season to handpick your head coach is absolutely ludicrous, and that right there may have a lot to do with Cleveland's disciplinary issues this year.
I will add that unfair expectations have played a role here, as well.
When the Browns went out and added Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt (who has yet to play this season due to a suspension) among others this offseason, many labeled Cleveland a Super Bowl contender, even though it went just 7-8-1 a year ago.
No one took into account the fact that Mayfield could have experienced a sophomore slump, nor did they factor in that teams would now be ready for the Browns after having a full offseason to scout them.
Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong for Cleveland thus far has gone wrong, and while the Browns' schedule is about to soften up considerably, I'm not sure how much it matters given that Kitchens' club is now 2-5.
But regardless of how unrealistic the expectations for the Browns were coming into this season, they have not lived up to them, and Kitchens may have to be the guy to fall on the sword.
Is it right? No, but that's the NFL.
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