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Freddie's Staff searches


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1 hour ago, Bigalow80 said:

Here's the bottom line...Most of these guys realize, that the Browns are the "up and coming team" similar to what the Rams were just before McVay took over. If this team performs as well or better than expected MOST of them will be getting head coaching interviews. I hate to say they are using the Browns as a potential stepping stone, but that is kind of what the NFL does in their coaching searches. I'm not going to complain. If the Browns win and develop a good culture that sustains winning aka NE, than I'm ok with the one year and go mentality. It's all about bring a SB championship to this organization!!

Sort of refreshing though. Instead having to fire coaches because they suck (Ray Horton) we're getting quality guys with higher aspirations. Dorsey knows the HC is the key. I wouldn't even want to guess how many assistants Bill has gone through in New England.

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16 hours ago, hoorta said:

LOL, except you can't "recruit" in the pros- well , he's probably not going to be a factor "recruiting" FA Jadeveon Clowney to come here. He'll be franchised anyway.   But can he coach is the question... :)  

As has been noted he is an ace recruiter. Above-average tactician. And like you said free agency is the recruiting in the NFL so maybe he can make a Big Splash in that. But he has been under a great defensive mind at Alabama (saban) and was the defensive coordinator this last year and co dc the year before. You don't become the defensive coordinator of Alabama without at the least being an above-average coach.

 

What's interesting to me as a huge college football fan is the amount of staff leaving Nick Saban. I don't know if maybe he is on his way out and they know it or if something else is going on. Or maybe they all just want to get in the NFL or took upward moves

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I am just imagining the new play book ....offensive minds Kitchens and Monken's blueprint for the future ....air raids and trick plays ......... we will be taking lots of risks I think in 2019 ...should be fun to watch ....... receivers will be in for a treat if we connect

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Oh dear .....I have put him straight


 

2012: Monken's Oklahoma State offense is so dominant #Browns are convinced to draft Okla State QB Brandon Weeden in the first round. 2014: #Browns cut Weeden. 2019: #Browns hire Monken as offensive coordinator.

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28 minutes ago, darren15 said:

Oh dear .....I have put him straight


 

2012: Monken's Oklahoma State offense is so dominant #Browns are convinced to draft Okla State QB Brandon Weeden in the first round. 2014: #Browns cut Weeden. 2019: #Browns hire Monken as offensive coordinator.

Well....this may simply prove that Monken is somewhat of  a genius at being able to get the best out of any QB....even Brandon Weeden.

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On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 10:18 PM, darren15 said:

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I agree with the thought people jump on the bandwagon to further their careers.  We would all do that.

What I like is the way Kitchens has set this up.   On both O and D, those coordinators will be high interest guys for head coaching positions.  What I like is we have other guys in place to take over.  Kitchens like Lindley.  I could see him stepping in to the OC role when Monken moves on.  On D, if Wilkes moves on,  the hiring of Chris Jones looks to be the insurance on that side of the ball.

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On 1/17/2019 at 10:18 PM, darren15 said:

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Random thoughts:

Jim Dray brings back memories of our 2014 team that inexplicably got off to a 7-4 start.  He was a TE we signed from Arizona, if memory serves me right, that was brought here primarily for his blocking skills.   Oddly enough, what I remember most about him were some of the great catches he made in clutch situations. He wasn't all that fast either.  Anyway, this is the type of guy I could see helping young players tapping skills they aren't aware they have. 

I think the same Adam Henry who was the position coach for Odell Beckham Jr and Jarvis Landry at LSU - did a tremendous job coaching up our young WR Corps.  Even if just a coincidence, look at what he tapped out of Perriman that 2 other NFL teams couldn't.  And then there's Callaway overcoming the early season dropsies.  Above all, I noticed all of our WRs blocking on the perimeter when they weren't receiving passes (which many divas in this league won't do).  Jarvis Landry, in particular, was often seen blocking to the echo of the whistle frustrating DBs.  Not bad for a guy whose reputation said he was only a slot receiver.  Looking back on it all, I wonder if Adam Henry was one of the biggest reasons Landry wanted to come here (outside of the money we had to spend of course).

Living in the Clearwater/Tampa area - the local sports radio reflected fans liked OC Todd Monken way more than they liked Dirk Koetter. Some of that was fair and some wasn't.  Once upon a time, the offensive background of Koetter was what made him a HC candidate in the first place. Unfortunately, that doesn't always add up to  the right guy in charge of all 3 phases plus the coaching staff and players. That was my initial concern with Freddie as much as I loved the job he did as OC the last 8 weeks.  However, Freddie was quick to point out he wasn't just a RB coach during his 13 years of coaching experience in this league.  That put me a little more at ease with his jump from RB Coach to OC to Head Coach within 1 year in the sense Dorsey didn't exactly hire an NFL newbie.  Kitchens has seen first hand here what works and what doesn't with the staff and players.   Bill Belicheck may put monotone sentences together like Rain Man; BUT his ability to see things other coaches are incapable of creates and perpetuates all the cred he needs up-top.  Love him or hate him, there was also something in his body of work that brought him to his inevitable fate as an incredibly successful HC.  Any reason Freddie can't be the same kind of right guy in the right place at the right time in Cleveland?    We're just going to see...

If you made it this far - the drinks are on me.   I'll treat and you pay...

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cNo reason at all that he can't.

7 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

It will be interesting to see how the Browns react to actually having expectations on them now. 

It's one thing to jump from horrible to decent... but another thing to go to contender. 

I guess one way to look at it is they had higher expectations last year then many of us did, especially once Hue was canned.  Not that firing Hue was a bad thing.  It's just that it usually doesn't work out well once you go to a interim coach mid season.

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1 hour ago, The Gipper said:

What does a "Quality Control" coach do?

Mostly break down film of the team you're going to be playing. Some really big name coaches (Gruden, McCarthy) started out as QC coaches.

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On 1/13/2019 at 7:53 PM, thenew23 said:

Does anybody think Freddie will call plays? Or just a traditional HC?

Word was that his OC will call the plays.

On 1/15/2019 at 4:01 AM, flyingfooldoug said:

I thought there were less penalties when hue took a hike.

And you'd be right...

After Williams shit-canned the disco-practices total penalties fell from 65 in the first 8 games to 47 in the last 8... that's pushing a 30% drop.

On 1/15/2019 at 4:09 PM, darren15 said:

CFL Riders HC Chris Jones has left his job to take up a position on the Browns defensive staff under Wilks

Between this move and the Bama DC's move, it sounds like we are lining up potential DC replacements  for Wilks (and they for the job at the NFL level), who should get another HC shot in a couple years.

If I'm right, then that's some seriously forward-looking succession planning there.

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10 hours ago, Tour2ma said:

Word was that his OC will call the plays.

 everything I've heard makes me think Freddy is going to be calling the plays.

And you'd be right...

After Williams shit-canned the disco-practices total penalties fell from 65 in the first 8 games to 47 in the last 8... that's pushing a 30% drop.

 which is a nagging concern to me we went from a player's coach to a Taskmaster and now back to a player's coach. Hopefully Freddy will keep the pressure on. Of course a lot of those penalties were offensive penalties and that was Freddy's wheelhouse

Between this move and the Bama DC's move, it sounds like we are lining up potential DC replacements  for Wilks (and they for the job at the NFL level), who should get another HC shot in a couple years.

If I'm right, then that's some seriously forward-looking succession planning there.

 assuming that there is a great deal of success in the Browns near future..🤞

WSS

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11 hours ago, Tour2ma said:

Word was that his OC will call the plays.

Freddie said in his presser that he will be calling the plays - not the OC. 

The OC will probably be a lot like Andy Reid's OC in the sense he will be kept very busy during the week of preparation; while he keeps even busier on the sideline staying out of Andy's way (especially with the play calling).  That doesn't mean he won't give input during the week of things they can exploit. He may even put him up in the press box to watch the blitz and disguised/delayed blitz tendencies as well as some areas of vulnerability and mismatches to attack that weren't in the game plans.   

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James Campen in for Wylie.

Wiley was a treat.  And the OL did a good job during the 2nd half of the season.  Robinson & Mayfield also helped the OL.   But the guy didn't even believe in stretching exercises.  lol

I'l never forget in TC / or pre season,  when there were questions about the LT position and how Harrison was struggling.  Somebody asked Wylie about  the possibility of moving Bitonio over to LT as plan B.....and Wylie replied, That would be plan Z!  And sure enough Hue, in his finite wisdom,  inserts Bitonio at LT.  :)

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On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 11:32 AM, hoorta said:

Sort of refreshing though. Instead having to fire coaches because they suck (Ray Horton) we're getting quality guys with higher aspirations. Dorsey knows the HC is the key. I wouldn't even want to guess how many assistants Bill has gone through in New England.

I agree.  I want to see turnover in the asst. ranks as long as we aren't just firing guys like hue did.  If other teams are hiring your guys to head coaching positions, it mean you are winning games.

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From Peter King, football morning in America column today:

 

 

 

One by one in the early days of the new year, coaching candidates were grilled by the Browns’ braintrust (owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, GM John Dorsey, strategist Paul DePodesta, EVP J.W. Johnson, personnel people Eliot Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith, Andrew Berry), the interviews lasting six to eight hours apiece. Interim coach Gregg Williams first, then ex-Colts and -Lions coach Jim Caldwell, Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, Pats linebackers coach Brian Flores, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus … and last, interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens.

The Browns were looking for a leader of men, a respected man who knew their team, and not the best available offensive mind, which was the flavor of the month. They were looking for the best coach, in terms of presence, building a team, and scheming a modern offense and defense. That is why I respect what Cleveland did in hiring Freddie Kitchens, who, despite his success as offensive coordinator in the second half of the season with Baker Mayfield, had to be better than six other men who spent at least six hours apiece with the interviewers over the course of eight days. This is a coach no one currently in the organization knew—and I am not exaggerating—when he was hired to coach the Browns’ running backs last winter. I don’t know if Kitchens will succeed or fail. But I do know this: The Browns worked to identify strong candidates, ignored the most obvious one (Mike McCarthy, despite his closeness with Dorsey) on the market, and did not know at the start of the process three weeks ago who they would hire.

If you think the fix was in for Kitchens, consider that the buzz around the team, before the Kitchens interview, was that Stefanski of the Vikings was the favorite. They loved Stefanski’s interview and thought he’d be a good match for Mayfield. Then Kitchens had a blunt and boffo interview, and Stefanski and Kitchens were the two leaders in the clubhouse, and they came back for second interviews, and Kitchens won it.

Shouldn’t that be the way teams hire coaches? Denver GM John Elway told me last week, effectively, that the fix was in on Vance Joseph. Elway had “pre-drawn” (his wording) the case for Joseph entering the 2017 coach search after Gary Kubiak, and Elway said he’d never do that again. In this case, if the Browns had a list of 100 names on their head-coach list at the start of the 2018 season, Kitchens would not have been on it. Ditto GM Chris Ballard in Indianapolis last year; he didn’t have Frank Reich anywhere near his list at the end of the 2017 season, and Reich ended up with the job, and he led the Colts from 1-5 to a playoff victory in 2018.

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Freddie Kitchens. (Getty Images)

I asked Kitchens last week for the short version of what he said to the Browns’ committee when he met with them Jan. 7.

“The Cliff’s Notes version … okay,” Kitchens said Friday from Cleveland, the southern twang still prominent in his voice 21 years after he left the University of Alabama, where he played quarterback. “I am going to get to know the players. I am going to ask the players their opinions, and I am going to listen to their input. I am going to convince them that we’re all in this together, and I can’t do it without them. They are going to trust me and respect me. Once they know you trust them and respect them, you can have tough conversations. It’s nothing personal. It’s just real. It doesn’t mean you’re a players’ coach. If I’m a players’ coach, I never would have been able to work for coach [Bill] Parcells [in Dallas in 2006]. I’ll make every decision based on the team and on the player. This is truly, probably, the ultimate people business. Coaches like to make it about themselves, but coaches aren’t playing the game. It’s a players’ game. A coach might survive two or three years without the buy-in of the players, but without that, it’s over and they’ll have to move on to the next team.”

Pause. “That’s about it,” Kitchens said. “When I had the chance to run the offense this year [after Hue Jackson was fired in midseason], I felt the players respected me and trusted me. I haven’t invented the wheel. Trust me. It’s football, and a lot of people are great at teaching and coaching football. But this team, this offense, I felt we had respect for each other and I felt like we were getting results.”

Kitchens was amazed at the people the Browns called to fact-find about him. Adrian Peterson and David Johnson (coached by Kitchens in Arizona in 2017), Patrick Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald (who witnessed him for several years), Carson Palmer (coached by Kitchens from 2013-16), Kurt Warner, Bill Parcells (Kitchens was on his last Dallas staff in 2006) … and A.Q. Shipley.

A.Q. Shipley?

“I see this number come up that I don’t recognize, and I almost didn’t answer,” said Shipley, a center for the Cardinals since 2015. “Then I pick up, and this guy says, This is so-and-so from the Cleveland Browns, and I was hoping I could ask you a couple of things about Freddie Kitchens. I thought, ‘Wow. They must be serious about Freddie, calling me.’ But I love Freddie. And I told them that. When I got to Arizona, Freddie was the QB coach at the time, and for the first time I’d seen this in football, the quarterback coach, the offensive coordinator, the quarterback—Carson Palmer—and the center—me—would meet during the week. Communication between the center and the quarterback is so important for protections and other stuff, and Freddie understood it would be a good idea to communicate multiple times every week, between Wednesday morning and Saturday night. It was a great idea. They also asked me how I thought Freddie would be up in front of the full team. I told ‘em he’ll be great with players. I think they must have already known that, from how Freddie did with Baker Mayfield late in the year.”

“What are you calling me for?” Parcells told the Browns. “You been around this guy for the last nine months. You know him.”

When Kitchens heard Cleveland would interview six coaches before him, and that he’d be last, he loved both of those things. When he heard all the people they’d called about him, he loved that too.

“I really was wanting them to have a thorough search,” Kitchens said. “One reason and one reason only: I wanted the organization, and I mean everyone in the room, to think, ‘He’s our guy.’ I didn’t want them to have any doubt. I didn’t want them thinking they wished they’d interviewed other guys. So if I got the job, I got the job because I was the best man. I got it for the right reasons. That’s what impressed me about this process. I didn’t know John Dorsey when I got here a year ago. He didn’t hire one of his friends. He didn’t hire someone to win the press conferences. He hired who he thought was the best coach for his team. He saw something in me I was always hoping someone would see—13 years coaching in the NFL, seven years coaching in college, just doing my job, trying to make players better. Nothing else. If nobody ever saw that, I’d have been fine, because I always liked my job.”

Curious: Mayfield was a top 10 NFL quarterback the second half of the season under Kitchens. What did Mayfield think of him getting the job?

Coachspeak. In-house. Time to be the head coach.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Kitchens said. “But I am pretty sure he’s not disappointed.”

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18 hours ago, Mark O said:

The Browns were looking for a leader of men, a respected man who knew their team, and not the best available offensive mind, which was the flavor of the month. They were looking for the best coach, in terms of presence, building a team, and scheming a modern offense and defense.

The underlined kinda tilted the playing field there

On 1/20/2019 at 7:54 AM, Flugel said:

Freddie said in his presser that he will be calling the plays - not the OC.

I need better sources...

Nothing wrong with this approach, but for me the key will be where Freddie spends his time when the D is on the field. With our young QB at least the first minutes need to be by his side. This is what McVay does with Goff in LA... this is what Hue never did with Kizer.

McVay has Wade Phillips... Hue had Williams... Kitch has Wilks. None have (or had) a reason not to be by their QB.

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On 1/22/2019 at 9:10 AM, Tour2ma said:

I need better sources...

Nothing wrong with this approach, but for me the key will be where Freddie spends his time when the D is on the field. With our young QB at least the first minutes need to be by his side. This is what McVay does with Goff in LA... this is what Hue never did with Kizer.

McVay has Wade Phillips... Hue had Williams... Kitch has Wilks. None have (or had) a reason not to be by their QB.

Ok, then why didn't you show me better sources (than Freddie) saying Freddie won't be calling the plays?   The biggest reason I wanted to listen to the presser after he was hired (on www.clevelandbrowns.com) was to get an idea of what the plan was for him as a 1st time HC.  I didn't want us to mess up the continuity of the drastic improvement in our offense over the final 8 weeks of the year.   I mean that from the spike in our rookie QB's numbers/efficiency to watching new players that struggled everywhere but Cleveland become reliable in important roles (like Perriman and Robinson).  I also noticed details like our WRs blocking people downfield when they weren't getting thrown to.  We also had a rookie RB average 5.2 yards a carry.  All that can be coached up during the week if you have the right guy in charge.   I've always felt the OC's that adapt well on game day are the ones that prepare best for opponents' strengths and situational tendencies to the extent they know exactly who to use and how to use them.   Freddie did that so I wanted to hear he'll still do that and look to his new OC as a very valuable consultant and important weekly preparation piece. Todd Monken can also help him either coach up players on the sideline (even though we have position coaches for that as well) or be an invaluable resource from above looking at what the defense is doing and where the ideal areas to exploit are.  An OC just doesn't call plays.  I see this as an ideal opportunity for Monken to come in here and prove to Freddie he can take on more as time goes on to eventually free himself up for more of the bigger picture. The reason I feel this way is I just watched Freddie go from position coach to looking like a very polished OC so I'm guessing he has a hope Monken can come in and grasp what's off the ground and help him get it soaring to all new heights. 

Everything else you wrote was extremely well said.

I think we can all agree McVay is very fortunate to have Wade Phillips perpetuating the unique situation of all the young HC has to be is an OC throughout the week and on game day.  That said, Andy Reid has been the same thing McVay has been since he took over Philly way back when they drafted McNabb #2 overall in 99 (and went to the playoffs from 2000-2010 w/ 5 NFC Championship appearances and 1 SB).  Not bad considering Philly had the worst record in the NFL in 98; and they would have drafted 1st if Cleveland wasn't re-entering the league.  The BIGGEST difference I saw is Reid never had the quality of Wade Phillips at DC.  Reid is doing the same thing in KC; but he's still in search of a Wade Phillips coordinating his defense. That said, KC was still just a Dee Ford lining up off sides away from sealing the deal.  

Anyway, the last time Denver won a SB, their MVP was Von Miller.  The irony of that was all those countless years Peyton Manning was an MVP/Pro Bowl QB - he could only win 1 SB.  The 1 year Manning played like he needed to retire - Denver won the SB swarming Carolina's offense to the extent Carolina only scored 1 TD.  That was HUGE considering the reality Denver's offense only had 11 first downs and 1 TD while it only converted 1 of 14 3rd downs against Wilks' (Carolina) Defense. The only guy that came close to standing out for Denver's offense was CJ Anderson with 90 yrds rushing Today, Gary Kubiak has a SB Championship on his HC resume thanks in large to Wade Phillips simplifying Kubiak's work to just the offense.  Irony here is Denver looked to Wade Phillips on Defense and the same CJ Anderson (minus 20 lbs) the LA Rams are now looking to.   And we're going to be looking to DC Wilks  (whose defense only gave up 1 offensive TD in the SB as well as limiting Denver to converting only 1 of 14 3rd downs) in 2019.   Now, if we can strengthen our defensive personnel this off season - I like our ability to take the next step.

 

 

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On 1/26/2019 at 8:28 AM, Flugel said:

Everything else you wrote was extremely well said.

So was the part you misread...

I need better sources... as in "I was mistaken"... not "I need a better source than you".

 

Now... don't you feel silly?

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21 hours ago, Tour2ma said:

So was the part you misread...

I need better sources... as in "I was mistaken"... not "I need a better source than you".

 

Now... don't you feel silly?

Silly?  No!   Dumber than a pet rock?  Yes!    

I was wondering how the Hell does a need a better source than Freddie! 

Now where did I put my village idiot hat?

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On 1/28/2019 at 5:54 PM, Flugel said:

Silly?  No!   Dumber than a pet rock?  Yes!    

I was wondering how the Hell does a need a better source than Freddie! 

Now where did I put my village idiot hat?

lol... no need for one, my friend.

It's not like we don't have a lil "history"...

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