3 things the Cleveland Browns must do after another disappointing season
I’m not one to get rid of a coach after one season, and I loathe the idea of giving Baker Mayfield his third head coach in three seasons. But Kitchens was a running backs coach in September 2018. He’d never been a head coach anywhere in his life. It was a horrible decision to promote him, and it showed on the field from the opener, when Cleveland committed 18 penalties and got destroyed at home by the Tennessee Titans, 43-13. Those Titans were led by Marcus Mariota, who had his best game of the season (highest QB Rating, highest QBR, three TD passes). For some perspective on just how rare of a good game that was from Mariota … five weeks later, he was benched.
The Browns, heading into Week 16, are second in the NFL in penalties, a sign of how little discipline they have. Kitchens never had a chance to try to contain this team’s strong personalties like Odell Beckham (who wants out), Jarvis Landry (who reportedly wants out), Baker Mayfield, and Myles Garrett.
Kitchens was a terrific offensive coordinator in 2018 after Hue Jackson was fired. I actually think Kitchens could be the perfect “good guy” OC to a head coach’s “bad guy.” But he’s not the leader who can help the Browns.
Who to replace him with? We should start with Josh McDaniels, whom Browns GM John Dorsey badly wanted last year. If Tom Brady retires or leaves, and Bill Belichick doesn’t have a viable backup option, might McDaniels look elsewhere? On the other hand, McDaniels is a risky choice; remember, he was a control freak in Denver and got fired after just 28 games. Later, he accepted the Colts head coaching job and then backed out.
If you’re perturbed with the Browns defense giving up 30+ points four times this season (no surprise, all losses), what about going after fiery 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh? He’s done wonders with a loaded defensive line in San Francisco. The Browns have talent in the trenches (Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon, Myles Garrett), yet they’re just 25th against the run according to Football Outsiders, and just 12th in sacks.
If Saleh got the job, the first call he should make is to Joe Brady, the LSU offensive coordinator. In one year, he helped the Tigers break all sorts of school passing records, and helped QB Joe Burrow go from fringe NFL QB to Heisman winner and Top 10 draft pick.
My choice to replace Kitchens would be one of two guys from the college ranks: Baylor coach Matt Rhule or Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. Rhule has lifted woebegone programs Temple and Baylor to prominence very quickly; Campbell instantly won at Toledo and Iowa State. Both are disciplinarians and relatively young enough — Rhule is 45 in January, Campbell 40 — to relate to the third youngest roster in the NFL. (The Browns had the youngest NFL roster in 2017 and 2018.)
