Freddie Kitchens has been fired after only one, 7-9 season with the Cleveland Browns, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen first reported Sunday evening, hours after the team's loss to the 2-14 intrastate rival Bengals.
Kitchens rose meteorically following his 5-3 stead as Browns interim coach in 2018, earning the full-time gig despite having no previous coordinating experience. That inexperience was on regular display this season, which the Browns entered with legitimate playoff hope for the first time in eons, following Baker Mayfield's outstanding rookie year and John Dorsey "winning the offseason" via the blockbuster acquisitions of Odell Beckham Jr.