Slumping Browns should jettison head coach Freddie Kitchens

The ax has already fallen on one head coach before the halfway point of the 2019 season. There’s a valid argument for a few more, specifically the coach who was billed as the caretaker of a Cleveland Browns team on the verge of breaking out in a big way this season, Freddie Kitchens. The Browns’ ills are directly connected to the things that Kitchens was promoted to improve.

Sunday’s 32-28 home loss to the Seahawks dropped the Browns to 2-4. They enter a bye week that has a road game against the Patriots greeting them on the other side. Baker Mayfield is struggling mightily, the team is among the most penalized in the league, and the defense has taken a step back. To say the Browns haven’t lived up to the considerable hype that accompanied them throughout the off-season is an understatement, and there must be accountability. This was supposed to be a new era in Cleveland.

Last season, when head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were fired at mid-season, Kitchens was elevated to Haley’s role. After starting 2-5-1, the Browns won five of their last eight, and Kitchens was credited for an improvement in the Cleveland offense, as well as developmental strides made by rookie quarterback Mayfield.

Now, almost a full year later, the Browns are almost in the same spot. Even after a bye week, beating the Patriots on the road seems like too tall a task for this team. That means, at best, Cleveland would be looking at a half-game improvement over the Hue Jackson regime, which was endlessly and rightfully mocked as hapless. But what was the endgame? The Browns made big splashes in the offseason, acquiring Odell Beckham and Olivier Vernon in a trade with the Giants for right guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabrill Peppers, as well as first- and third-round picks. They also signed Sheldon Richardson in free agency to further shore up the defensive line.

On Sunday against Seattle, Beckham, with 101 yards receiving, topped the century mark for just the second time this season. His yardage is still on pace to be respectable in 2019, though the fact he has only one touchdown in six games is concerning. He had three when he only appeared in four games with the Giants in 2017. That said, this is a symptom of a greater problem in the passing game, one for which Kitchens holds a lot of responsibility.

The Browns opted to promote Kitchens after the 2018 season, rather than pursue another big-name hire, or even retain Gregg Williams, who despite his tainted reputation for Bountygate, at least deserves credit for guiding the Browns to a 5-3 finish. This was in large part because of the relationship that Kitchens had with Mayfield. That also gibes with what is becoming standard practice around the league -- teams that have invested heavily in a young quarterback tend to install coaches whose expertise is tailored to help their development. 

Kitchens is a former college quarterback and served as quarterbacks coach for three years in Arizona, overseeing Carson Palmer’s brief reemergence into respectability late in his career. Mayfield, however, has regressed considerably in Year 2. He leads the NFL in interceptions with 11 and has only five touchdown passes. His 56.6 completion percentage is near the bottom of the league. 

Mayfield had four game-winning drives last season, but the offense finds ways to come up short in close games in 2019. He has no game-winning drives this season, and came up short in a would-be game-tying, fourth- quarter drive against the Rams in Week 3.

If one wanted to be generous, fingers could be pointed at the offensive line. Mayfield is in the top 10 most sacked quarterbacks in the league, yet with 16 he has roughly a third fewer than Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, who are tied for the league lead with 25 each. Mayfield has an enviable pair of starting receivers in Beckham and Jarvis Landry, and a running back in Nick Chubb who is emerging as a certified star, averaging more than five yards per carry.

All the elements are there, and yet Mayfield is foundering. He had a nice rushing touchdown to get Cleveland the lead in the first half Sunday. Overall, though, it’s hard to describe his three-interception performance as good. The defense hasn’t been quite dominating enough to compensate. Being made to look bad by Russell Wilson, a bona fide MVP candidate, is no shame, yet the vaunted defensive line is getting shredded on the ground. Over the past three weeks, the Browns have allowed more than 200 rushing yards per game. That means the quarterback who is already struggling faces deficits and losing the time-of-possession battle as well.

The season is rapidly approaching the point of no return. The best argument for keeping Kitchens at this point is that it takes a while for a head coach and quarterback to gel, and a sudden change in-season might not be enough to save 2019 for the Browns.

At this point, the chances look slim for the Browns to turn this season around into the playoff berth many in the media assumed was a foregone conclusion in the summer. With all the volatile elements in place, things can go off the rails quickly with OBJ and Mayfield unless a fix is made. The obvious answer is a change at head coach.