Browns Rumors: Has Cleveland Settled On Freddie Kitchens?

It appears the Cleveland Browns have chosen a new head coach. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on Wednesday that the Browns had hired offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens for the team’s vacant top job, days after it was rumored Kitchens had a serious chance to be the team’s new head coach.

The Browns have not made the announcement official yet, but they are expected to do so by the end of Wednesday. Kitchens took over as the team’s offensive play-caller halfway through the season after Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired. He established a rapport with rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield, and the partnership was explosive.

Mayfield set an NFL record for touchdown passes by a rookie in a single season, with 27. The Browns increased their scoring average from 19.3 points per game under Haley to 23.7 points per game under Kitchens. The team went 5-3 with Kitchens calling plays after going just 2-5-1 under the previous leadership group.

As recently as two hours before Mortensen’s report, there were questions about what the Browns would do. ProFootballTalk reported that it was essentially down to Kitchens or Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. It seemed to be a battle between football people versus analytics people in the Browns front office, with Kitchens favored by the football people.

Kitchens beat out Browns interim head coach Gregg Williams, who also interviewed for the job. At just 44, Kitchens is 16 years younger than Williams and the Browns may value his relationship with Mayfield over all else.

Kitchens was the betting favorite to win the job, per BetDSI.