Ed Puskas: Kitchens’ rise was meteoric

Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey has a pretty good idea that Freddie Kitchens can, in fact, stand the heat.

Kitchens showed as much during what ended up being a half-season audition for bigger and better things after the firings of then-head coach Hue Jackson and then-offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

But it turns out Kitchens wasn’t simply trying out for Haley’s old job.

The former Alabama quarterback so impressed Dorsey and the rest of the Browns’ search committee that word began leaking Wednesday that he will be named the ninth head coach since the Browns returned from hiatus in 1999.

Kitchens’ hiring — assuming there are no complications — completes a meteoric rise from his status as a nearly anonymous position coach when the season began to the head coach who will be expected to direct the Browns to the next step in an epic turnaround.

Kitchens, in some ways, is stepping into a great situation. In quarterback Baker Mayfield, the Browns finally have the elusive franchise quarterback they’ve chased for so long.

Mayfield started just 13 games, but still broke the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season (27) by a rookie. The cocky Oklahoma product got under the skin of some during a rollicking, record-setting season, but could do no wrong in Cleveland.

Mayfield’s play really took off after the firings. Some of the credit for the Browns’ 5-3 finish goes to interim head coach Gregg Williams, whose attitude and excitement seemed contagious.

But it was the development of the offense under Kitchens’ direction — and the production of Mayfield, rookie running back Nick Chubb and the offensive line — that turned around a team that looked like it was headed for yet another disappointing season.

Mayfield threw the ball all over the field with accuracy and poise. Chubb hit holes previous Browns running backs couldn’t find with flashlights and maps. And those holes were opened by a line that had struggled mightily until Jackson and Haley were jettisoned.

Promoting Williams and Kitchens was another Dorsey master stroke.

But all that offense covered the blemishes of a struggling defense. That’s why, despite the success Williams had as the interim head coach, it was Kitchens who emerged as the leading candidate for the full-time gig.

Both were granted interviews, but it was clear from the moment the season ended that Williams was simply getting a “thanks-for-your-help” sort of look from Dorsey.

Kitchens’ chemistry with Mayfield and other players on offense and their collective success means that the newest Browns head coach must deal with something none of his recent predecessors ever really had to worry about — the weight of great expectations.

Kitchens will be expected to win right away.

The Browns didn’t quite get to .500 in 2018, but seven wins — on the heels of an 0-16 season — only left Cleveland fans with heightened feelings about 2019 and beyond.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.