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Dorsey and Haslam difference of opinion on Kitchens


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By
Ryan Gosling -
December 11, 2019

The Cleveland Browns are now 6-7 on the season, and all hopes of a deep playoff run have dissipated alongside their Super Bowl aspirations. They’re not mathematically eliminated from the postseason, but chances are slim. And with that comes consequences for some in the organization, including head coach Freddie Kitchens.

However, sources have told Pro Football Network Insiders Ben Allbright and Tony Pauline that there is a difference of opinion when it comes to Kitchens. On one side is general manager John Dorsey, who is believed to be in favor of keeping Kitchens beyond this season. On the other side is owner Jimmy Haslam, who is disappointed in the team’s performance and would consider a head coaching change, especially if Kitchens does not win the remainder of the Browns’ games.

To win out, it would mean that Cleveland would have defeated the Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, and Cincinnati Bengals. Two of those games might seem attainable, but the divisional game against Baltimore could help push Haslam to make a change.

Some might wonder – with a team stacked with talent, how did we get to this point? For those in the building who are not big fans of Kitchens, they’ll point to the man himself. Although he was a running backs coach, tight ends coach, and even quarterbacks coach throughout his NFL coaching career, he never once held the position of offensive coordinator (with the exception of the interim tag in 2018) or head coach at any collegiate or professional level.

Thus, some felt he was not equipped to handle the wide array of responsibilities that a head coach is responsible for when he was given the position in 2019. Their beliefs were further strengthened by recent reports that the team has become dysfunctional and undisciplined.

For example, the Browns have had issues with numerous players this season, including cornerbacks Damarious Randall and Jerome Whitehead, wide receiver Antonio Callaway, and defensive end Myles Garrett. They also have had issues on the field. This season, they are ranked within the top five in the league in penalties, which includes 105 infractions for nearly 960 yards.

But it also goes beyond that. On the upcoming podcast episode of PFN Draft Insiders Thursday morning with Pauline and Andy Herman, Pauline will talk about how sources told him that there are simply “too many egos in the building.”

These same sources have told Pauline that they think Dorsey will ultimately be able to convince Haslam to keep Kitchens for at least another season. However, as Allbright has heard, losing the remaining games would become a very tough sell for Dorsey.
Early warning signs that trouble was brewing

Even before the regular season began, there were indications that this team was heading in the wrong direction. During a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts, a number of fights broke out between the teams. Kitchens said that he had encouraged his players to be physical and to set the tone. Unfortunately, that led to four separate skirmishes throughout the second day of practice. One of the said skirmishes actually led to a bench-clearing brawl. When the day was over, Kitchens was asked about how he would handle the situation. His response to the media was quite nonchalant.

“We will see what caused it and what happened, then evaluate the situation. But we’re not going to take anything from anybody either.”

In the opening game of the season, the Cleveland Browns were blown out by the Tennessee Titans 43-13. During the game, the Browns were penalized an incredible 18 times for 182 yards. At some point in the days or weeks following that game, Garrett was interviewed by Yahoo Sports regarding the subject of discipline. He admitted the team had been struggling in that department.

“Discipline needs to improve, it wasn’t there for the first week, and we kind of fooled ourselves in the things that we were doing that will prepare us to win a game like that. So we’ll just have to do better with what we’re doing each week and every day so we don’t fall into those traps where there’s no unnecessary roughness penalties, or just alignment, assignment, and technique.”
A culmination of undisciplined and dysfunctional play

The peak of the Browns undisciplined season was on full display in the first of the teams two meetings with division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. During a Thursday night football game, near the end of a Browns 21-7 victory, a melee took place between the two teams. During the brawl, Garrett ripped off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and swung it in his direction.

The incident ended with a total of 29 players being fined a total of $732,422. The game had been aggressive from the start, with a number of illegal hits from the Browns causing an additional $810,000 in fines. Three players were suspended for at least one game, with Garrett getting an indefinite suspension that could last throughout the offseason and training camp.
Is there a lack of accountability and leadership?

Kitchens has been asked about the culture of the Browns on a number of occasions. After the incident with Garrett, a reporter asked Kitchens about the fighting and if he condones it.

“I never okay fights,” Kitchens said. “Did I want them to get after their ass? Yes, I did. But that’s not fighting, that’s not after the whistle. Between the whistle, yes. I never condone fighting on the football field because that’s penalties. I don’t coach penalties. I don’t coach false starts. I don’t coach after the whistle grabbing somebody’s face mask. I don’t coach that.”

Even after he claimed to not condone fighting, Kitchens was once again in hot water the week before leading up to the rematch with Pittsburgh. A few days before the game, he was seen wearing “Pittsburgh started it” t-shirt and was criticized for making light of a serious situation. It certainly did not help with the narrative that he is fueling the fire of an undisciplined team.

It’s going to be an interesting few weeks for the Browns organization with Kitchens’ future in doubt. If the Browns lose out, it’s going to be hard for anyone to sell the fact that he should return for a second season. But if he is able to win at least two of the remaining three, Dorsey may just be able to get him another season in Cleveland. Will this turn into a power struggle behind the scenes? That remains to be seen.




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Not at all surprising that Jimmy is a pro-fire guy ..... since he has been pretty much his entire time as Browns owner.


Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Originally Posted By: YTownBrownsFan
Not at all surprising that Jimmy is a pro-fire guy ..... since he has been pretty much his entire time as Browns owner.


Haslam is allergic to making a good decision.

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no cam and fired is kinda wierd


I`m good with Baker... Playoffs is good enough for me.
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Originally Posted By: cfrs15
Originally Posted By: YTownBrownsFan
Not at all surprising that Jimmy is a pro-fire guy ..... since he has been pretty much his entire time as Browns owner.


Haslam is allergic to making a good decision.


how bout j jones?


I`m good with Baker... Playoffs is good enough for me.
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Originally Posted By: cfrs15
Originally Posted By: YTownBrownsFan
Not at all surprising that Jimmy is a pro-fire guy ..... since he has been pretty much his entire time as Browns owner.


Haslam is allergic to making a good decision.



That's a bad allergy to have.

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If only Haslam will wise up and realize that Dorsey is just as much of a problem and need to get him out of here too.

all those picks, and he picked exactly one Pro Bowler(Ward)

While Sashi Brown traded back in the draft every year and has 2 (Garret and Schobert) with Schobert getting his 2nd Pro Bowl berth. Im not Brown was a good GM, but he done more with less.

Not to mention Callaway was a blown pick with criminal and drug history everyone saw coming, Corbett is an LOL what an awful pick.

Dorsey has made some pretty bone headed decisions. He is just as responsible as Kitchens for this mess. Dorsey is also a big part of our disipline problems by brining in and drafting guys that are problems or won't shut up.

We will lose very little by sending Dorsey on his way right along with Kitchens. Will be some good GM candidates out there this year, like Kevin Colbert from the Steelers for example his deal runs out at the end of the season. We got options.

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Yes - let's start all over again for the umpteenth time.

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First an foremost, thank you for posting that.

Ultimately, not much has changed in terms of where you fall on Kitchens. I know it hasn't for me.

It comes down to whether or not you think he can improve. I have doubts. I think he's shown he can't or won't see where he's making bad decisions. If you can't do that, improvement gets really really tough.

The stories about the players not respecting him.... I dunno. I've always looked at those stories with a wary eye. I think FK should improve his style, but ultimately it comes down to winning. Nothing cures the ills of big egos more than winning. Put another way, if FK was a hard-butt, but we were still losing, do you think these ego problems go away? I don't. We're losing because our offense sucks and our defense hasn't been anywhere near as dominant as we (or I) expected. Very little of that can be pinned on Freddie's coaching style/personality. It has much more to do with X's and O's.

I'm not excusing Freddie's coaching and the effect it has on the locker and the results on the field. I'm just saying that I don't think it rises to the level of hitting the eject button. I think the other parts that I highlighted might.


There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.

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If knee-jerk Haslam is in favor, but Dorsey isn't, that tells you all you need to know.

That said, I hope Haslam wins out and we fire our coach EVERY year. Because, that's bound to work and get us a Super Bowl eventually, right?


Browns is the Browns

... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.

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I agree with you about the wary eye.

At some point people have to begin to understand those writing these stories and the people they talk to have an agenda and what you are reading reflects it.


Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.

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I don't think agenda is even the biggest part (depending on the writer). It's just more of the big egos and attitudes responding to losing.


There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.

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I want him to get another years... especially if we're win two it of the last three to achieve our best record in 12 years


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