Freddie Kitchens: vaguely employed

Also, for those of you who are wondering why there has been no official announcement yet:

I am all for hiring an OC to help out, but Kitchens better still be calling the plays. That's what got him the HC job. I have a hard time believing he won't be the play caller. It just wouldn't make any sense.

I like Todd Monken. Wouldn’t mind him coming to Cleveland to help with the offense with Freddie. Couldn’t hurt.

What are the defensive coaches out there? Still haven’t heard much about the coordinators on that side.

AZ_ said:

Monken would be an incredibly interesting hire.

Inherently familiar w/ spread concepts, pretty innovative guy. Could be a good fit alongside Fab Five Freddie.

Impressive coach. Took over a So Miss program in shambles and turned it around.

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Zero downside.

FrontPageNews said:

Not sure monken would want to be a Monday-Saturday OC and I doubt Freddie would give up play calling year 1

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Well, they're obviously meeting for some reason.

AZ_ said:

Monken would be an incredibly interesting hire.

Inherently familiar w/ spread concepts, pretty innovative guy. Could be a good fit alongside Fab Five Freddie.

Impressive coach. Took over a So Miss program in shambles and turned it around.

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I like the new AZ making jokes, good for you.

And calling Kitchens Fab Five Freddie is the greatest thing you have said and ABSOLUTELY needs to be his nickname on this board. We have to make that stick, and I will give you props for days if it does, lol.

All throughout the process, and what ultimately for Kitchens the job, was his playcaling and his work with Baker....

What got Kitchens this job was his work on offense, so I highly doubt that will change with this promotion...

Bringing an OC in will likely be as a game planning and scouting assistant to take some of the legwork off of his plays and allow him more flexibility with his head coach duties... We could even see a pass game/run game coordinator added to the title....

Getting a strong DC to turn the defense completely over to will allow Kitchens the ability to juggle calling the plays on offense and his head coach duties...

Gimme Some Mo said:

I am all for hiring an OC to help out, but Kitchens better still be calling the plays. That's what got him the HC job. I have a hard time believing he won't be the play caller. It just wouldn't make any sense.

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It was probably as much deciding which plays to run, and adding wrinkles, rather than pure sequencing, and that's more game-planning. If he and Freddie sit down and talk offensive philosophies and scheming, and Freddie sees that they're on the same page, it could be a great move. Collaboration between two great offensive minds in terms of game-planning, then Freddie watches the big picture on Sunday.

So this is not me suggesting we don't get a strong defensive coordinator, but its a conversation I want to have as I have been thinking about this for a few weeks.

We talk about guys being offensive or defensive specialists and never really think they know the other side of the ball, Kitchens being an example.

But we as fans feel we know both sides of the ball equally and have no problems knowing the difference between a cover 2, read a press man 4-3, etc. Or knowing a spread, or RPO, etc.

But here is my thought. Why wouldn't Kitchens know defense well. He has to learn how to beat the defenses and has done so very effectively, this teaches him defensive principals at high level. I know front offices are adapting their thinking some, but I think an added bonus we are seeing with an innovative offensive coach is they know defenses well and their weaknesses which as a head coach allows them to game plan with their defensive coordinators to not get beat. Just an opinion.

The Human Q-Tip said:

I suppose it depends on how you view it. A franchise is inherently about more than any one person, or more than any particular group of player who happen to be playing for it at a particular time.

The most accurate way to characterize what happened is that the league shut down the Browns for three years, opened a new franchise in Baltimore, transferred our roster there, and then reopened the Browns in 1999.

Plus...I take some personal credit for the name, colors, and history staying here. I worked for the Firm that represented Modell in that whole dispute, and while I wasn't part of the team that worked in it, I did very early on suggest to someone who was on the team that Modell should offer that to the city even though it had never been done before.

So....you're welcome.

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I certainly do appreciate it.

But if the Rat-turds were a genuine expansion team, they would have had to acquire Matt Stover by trade, regular draft, or expansion draft. And none of those things happened. Stover just magically became a member of the “expansion” Rat-turds.

AZ_ said:

Will he play the fullback?

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No concerns with Dorsey influencing the coordinator hires?

MGMT said:

No concerns with Dorsey influencing the coordinator hires?

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Not really.

1. Freddie is a first-time HC. Why wouldn't the person he reports directly to have some say?
2. A chunk of Freddie's would-be staff is probably under BA in TB.
3. Dorsey has done a terrific job so far with his decisions - shouldn't he get the benefit of the doubt with some coordinator suggestions?

I mean sure, maybe it's not the BEST situation to be in but it doesn't mean we can't have some real success with the direction we're going. Bottom line - if he drafts well and manages the roster well via free agency and trades, we should be in a pretty good position.

EDIT: the coaching staff will likely see changes on a yearly basis anyway. We probably won't get everything perfect year one but I'm sure with some tweaking we should see it angled in the ideal direction within the next few years.

I'll tell you what - Todd Monken was not the problem in Tampa Bay last year. He is an aggressive play caller who loves pressuring the defense with the deep ball when it's open. Peyton Barber was rarely used in the passing game because he was a vital part of pass protection, which really kept Ronald Jones glued to the bench more than anything else. Tampa had a shitty defense and a below average offensive line, but the playcalling was thrilling.