Why moving on from Kitchens & Dorsey could be a collosal mistake. - 01/01/20 03:46 PM
I am going to play a bit of "Devil's Advocate" here in this post. [b]I was not a fan of either Dorsey or Kitchens BUT there was more merit to keeping them than cleaning house.
1. Schedule:The Browns played 6 teams that are currently in the playoffs(Bills, Pats, Titans, Ravens,Seahawks, and 49ers) This is a VERY tough roe to hoe for a 1st year coach installing new systems on both sides of the ball. I don't care what your talent level is, it takes time to learn how to win these kinda games. To Kitchens credit he did beat the Ravens and the Bills so he was showing signs that he could compete in the NFL in the near future regardless of what You, Me, or the media thinks.
2. Divisional Games- Kitchens is the 1st coach since Schotenheimer to beat every team in his division. This is a HUGE accomplishment considering Kitchens was in his 1st year, and showed very good growth and a very positive outlook that he just could move forward in the future.
3. Schedule Strength: The Browns only played TWO TEAMS in 2019 that ranked at the bottom of their respected division.(Dolphins and Cardinals) Our easy schedule wasn't actually easy at all. We had TWO other games where our opponents ranked 3rd place in their division (Jets & Rams) and the rest of our schedule was against TOP TEAMS in the NFL that ranked 1st or 2nd in their division. Even the Denver Broncos, who everyone on here said we were better than, and they stunk, are ranked 2nd in the AFC West.
This was one of the hardest schedules in recent memory.
4. Playoff Teams -Kitchens won 2 games against playoff teams(Bills and Ravens) in his 1st year. That is huge accomplishment for any 1st year head coach. He won those games against two of the NFL top coaches in McDermont and Harbaugh.
5. Dorsey, Kitchens, & Rumors of people wanting out- - This is where i believe had Dorsey been given more time, these situations would have been rectified quickly. Dorsey wanted to "keep Kitchens" this tells me that Dorsey planned on moving Landry and OBJ out of here this offseason. Dorsey was really going to flex his muscle and jettison anyone here that doesn't want to buy into the damn program. this is of course exactly what he should have done. The fact that Haslam listens to his "key players" on what coach they want means we will never have success here. when you get hired at a job, you don't get a choice who your boss is. these players need to learn to suck it up, tow the line, get paid, or get the hell out of here. I'd have no problem sending both Landry and OBJ packing, if they are not going to buy in and respect our coach, get out. Don't need you, can't win with you. We easily could have moved both those guys for decent returns and replaced them with receivers that will STFU and do their job. You don't need superstar receivers to win the NFL.
Towards the end of the year Kitchens was FINALLY starting to "get it" and was empowered by Dorsey to begin disciplining these guys. Njoku wouldn't tow the line so he was benched, Randall wouldn't follow the rules, so he was told to stay home at the Pittsburgh game, Higgins refused to play in the Seahawks game like a baby so Kitchens benched his arse.
Conclusion - Simply put, it takes time to build a culture. There was more than enough ample evidence to show that Kitchens was growing as a coach. That doesn't mean i liked Kitchens, to the contrary I thought he was an idiot, BUT he deserved more time. Jackson won 1 game in two years and was given a chance at a 3rd, Kitchens beat 2 playoff teams, beat every team in his division, and easy could have been 8-8 or 9-7 if a few things bounce our way, and he is fired after one year? and you fire your GM? That's kneejerk 101.
As much as it pains me to say this because I was and still am happy we moved on from Dorsey and Kitchens, I think doing so was a HUGE mistake that is going to set us back for a very long time. Its always important to look back on things and reflect from your mistakes, and learn from them. This mistake with Kitchens and Dorsey is the same exactly mistake we made with Chud/Norv Turner, and Banner.
Simply put, the Browns would have probably been better off staying pat with Dorsey and Kitchens, moving OBJ and Landry out of here, using that freed up cap money to Sign Hunt and Schobert longterm, and using the draft capital from those trades to draft some WR. Look at the Steelers, they never sign WR, they draft everyone. WR are not integral to winning championships.
We could have made some changes to the coaching staff, replacing Monken, Having Kitchens let the OC call the plays with some interjections here and there as Bel;lichik does it in NE, and let Dorsey be the guy who hires his staff.
Remember Dorsey told us to not buy the hype. This was a 3 year thing, that the teams and Kitchens were to grow this year
http://www.nfl.com/videos/good-morning-f...e-it-s-not-real
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2837...cle-this-season
https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/nfl/...33-e5b990ea5c1d
I think Dorsey was beginning to see that OBJ and Landry were going to be problems, they were not going to buy in like Hunt did. When Hunt was talking about guys not giving their all or enough effort he was talking about OBJ and LANDRY. Those comments were specifically targeted at them. You could see Landry rounding off routes or jogging, OBJ refusing to huddle up, etc...thats NOT a coaching problem, thats just being an arsehole.
Dorsey made a few mistakes, but they were not ones that could not be quickly fixed. We would have gotten better with addition by subtraction by moving Landry, OBJ, Njoku, and Randall, those were the big 4 malcontents. We had enough young talent to delop on the roster to do without those guys. We could have brought in a FA safety to replace Randal, we also had a pretty good draft position.
Were we very poised to make a HUGE jump next year. I 100% believe Dorsey plan was to jettison OBJ, Landry, Randall, and Njoku, and keep Hunt Longterm and focus the O on running the ball with Hunt and Chubb, fixing the OL, and bolstering the D with a few changes to Kitchens staff.
With this being Dorsey 1st coaching hire sometimes it takes a year to feel things out. Kitchens wasn't as bad of a hire as the biased media wants you to believe when you look at the overall picture. Bad coaches don't beat playoff teams with a bunch of malcontents on the team undermining him along the way. The Steelers would have kept Kitchens and Dorsey and stayed the course. Thats why they are successful and we are not. The Steelers made mistakes with two superstars too in Bell and Brown, both malcontents, they had to jettison those guys to get back to where they need to be.
As sad as it is, we are probably looking at another cleaning of house in two years, rinse and repeat. the Haslams just don't give anyone a chance. Dorsey was saddled with Hue Jackson his 1st year, so he wasn't even given the customary two years a GM gets with his 1st coaching hire. Things like this take time.
The biggest issues I myself saw this year was Mayfield didn't play well, and we had guys like Landry and OBJ not giving their all being lazy, thats not a coaching problem, thats players being morons. If OBJ was hurt so much he should have got surgery and not played.
Until the Browns and ownership back a coach and GM 100% and gfet out of the way and give them 4 unfettered years to do what they need to do, we will never fix this problem.
What Kitchens was able to accomplish this year, he should have been given another year and so should Dorsey. They should have been allowed to jettison the malcontents, make a few changes to the coaching staff, and bring in a few more people. Sure Dorsey brought in OBJ and Landry, and it was a mistake, no one is perfect, but they were NOT the level of mistakes that Dorsey could not have rectified this offseason.
Regardless, thats my thoughts after reflection. I wasn't a fan of either Kitchens or Dorsey, but look at the results, the schedule, who he beat, etc...they both deserved another year.
Thoughts?
1. Schedule:The Browns played 6 teams that are currently in the playoffs(Bills, Pats, Titans, Ravens,Seahawks, and 49ers) This is a VERY tough roe to hoe for a 1st year coach installing new systems on both sides of the ball. I don't care what your talent level is, it takes time to learn how to win these kinda games. To Kitchens credit he did beat the Ravens and the Bills so he was showing signs that he could compete in the NFL in the near future regardless of what You, Me, or the media thinks.
2. Divisional Games- Kitchens is the 1st coach since Schotenheimer to beat every team in his division. This is a HUGE accomplishment considering Kitchens was in his 1st year, and showed very good growth and a very positive outlook that he just could move forward in the future.
3. Schedule Strength: The Browns only played TWO TEAMS in 2019 that ranked at the bottom of their respected division.(Dolphins and Cardinals) Our easy schedule wasn't actually easy at all. We had TWO other games where our opponents ranked 3rd place in their division (Jets & Rams) and the rest of our schedule was against TOP TEAMS in the NFL that ranked 1st or 2nd in their division. Even the Denver Broncos, who everyone on here said we were better than, and they stunk, are ranked 2nd in the AFC West.
This was one of the hardest schedules in recent memory.
4. Playoff Teams -Kitchens won 2 games against playoff teams(Bills and Ravens) in his 1st year. That is huge accomplishment for any 1st year head coach. He won those games against two of the NFL top coaches in McDermont and Harbaugh.
5. Dorsey, Kitchens, & Rumors of people wanting out- - This is where i believe had Dorsey been given more time, these situations would have been rectified quickly. Dorsey wanted to "keep Kitchens" this tells me that Dorsey planned on moving Landry and OBJ out of here this offseason. Dorsey was really going to flex his muscle and jettison anyone here that doesn't want to buy into the damn program. this is of course exactly what he should have done. The fact that Haslam listens to his "key players" on what coach they want means we will never have success here. when you get hired at a job, you don't get a choice who your boss is. these players need to learn to suck it up, tow the line, get paid, or get the hell out of here. I'd have no problem sending both Landry and OBJ packing, if they are not going to buy in and respect our coach, get out. Don't need you, can't win with you. We easily could have moved both those guys for decent returns and replaced them with receivers that will STFU and do their job. You don't need superstar receivers to win the NFL.
Towards the end of the year Kitchens was FINALLY starting to "get it" and was empowered by Dorsey to begin disciplining these guys. Njoku wouldn't tow the line so he was benched, Randall wouldn't follow the rules, so he was told to stay home at the Pittsburgh game, Higgins refused to play in the Seahawks game like a baby so Kitchens benched his arse.
Conclusion - Simply put, it takes time to build a culture. There was more than enough ample evidence to show that Kitchens was growing as a coach. That doesn't mean i liked Kitchens, to the contrary I thought he was an idiot, BUT he deserved more time. Jackson won 1 game in two years and was given a chance at a 3rd, Kitchens beat 2 playoff teams, beat every team in his division, and easy could have been 8-8 or 9-7 if a few things bounce our way, and he is fired after one year? and you fire your GM? That's kneejerk 101.
As much as it pains me to say this because I was and still am happy we moved on from Dorsey and Kitchens, I think doing so was a HUGE mistake that is going to set us back for a very long time. Its always important to look back on things and reflect from your mistakes, and learn from them. This mistake with Kitchens and Dorsey is the same exactly mistake we made with Chud/Norv Turner, and Banner.
Simply put, the Browns would have probably been better off staying pat with Dorsey and Kitchens, moving OBJ and Landry out of here, using that freed up cap money to Sign Hunt and Schobert longterm, and using the draft capital from those trades to draft some WR. Look at the Steelers, they never sign WR, they draft everyone. WR are not integral to winning championships.
We could have made some changes to the coaching staff, replacing Monken, Having Kitchens let the OC call the plays with some interjections here and there as Bel;lichik does it in NE, and let Dorsey be the guy who hires his staff.
Remember Dorsey told us to not buy the hype. This was a 3 year thing, that the teams and Kitchens were to grow this year
http://www.nfl.com/videos/good-morning-f...e-it-s-not-real
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2837...cle-this-season
https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/nfl/...33-e5b990ea5c1d
I think Dorsey was beginning to see that OBJ and Landry were going to be problems, they were not going to buy in like Hunt did. When Hunt was talking about guys not giving their all or enough effort he was talking about OBJ and LANDRY. Those comments were specifically targeted at them. You could see Landry rounding off routes or jogging, OBJ refusing to huddle up, etc...thats NOT a coaching problem, thats just being an arsehole.
Dorsey made a few mistakes, but they were not ones that could not be quickly fixed. We would have gotten better with addition by subtraction by moving Landry, OBJ, Njoku, and Randall, those were the big 4 malcontents. We had enough young talent to delop on the roster to do without those guys. We could have brought in a FA safety to replace Randal, we also had a pretty good draft position.
Were we very poised to make a HUGE jump next year. I 100% believe Dorsey plan was to jettison OBJ, Landry, Randall, and Njoku, and keep Hunt Longterm and focus the O on running the ball with Hunt and Chubb, fixing the OL, and bolstering the D with a few changes to Kitchens staff.
With this being Dorsey 1st coaching hire sometimes it takes a year to feel things out. Kitchens wasn't as bad of a hire as the biased media wants you to believe when you look at the overall picture. Bad coaches don't beat playoff teams with a bunch of malcontents on the team undermining him along the way. The Steelers would have kept Kitchens and Dorsey and stayed the course. Thats why they are successful and we are not. The Steelers made mistakes with two superstars too in Bell and Brown, both malcontents, they had to jettison those guys to get back to where they need to be.
As sad as it is, we are probably looking at another cleaning of house in two years, rinse and repeat. the Haslams just don't give anyone a chance. Dorsey was saddled with Hue Jackson his 1st year, so he wasn't even given the customary two years a GM gets with his 1st coaching hire. Things like this take time.
The biggest issues I myself saw this year was Mayfield didn't play well, and we had guys like Landry and OBJ not giving their all being lazy, thats not a coaching problem, thats players being morons. If OBJ was hurt so much he should have got surgery and not played.
Until the Browns and ownership back a coach and GM 100% and gfet out of the way and give them 4 unfettered years to do what they need to do, we will never fix this problem.
What Kitchens was able to accomplish this year, he should have been given another year and so should Dorsey. They should have been allowed to jettison the malcontents, make a few changes to the coaching staff, and bring in a few more people. Sure Dorsey brought in OBJ and Landry, and it was a mistake, no one is perfect, but they were NOT the level of mistakes that Dorsey could not have rectified this offseason.
Regardless, thats my thoughts after reflection. I wasn't a fan of either Kitchens or Dorsey, but look at the results, the schedule, who he beat, etc...they both deserved another year.
Thoughts?