The Browns will be interviewing offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens for their head coaching vacancy early next week and they reportedly want to keep the door open for him to stay in his current job in the event someone else gets the top job.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the team has gotten “several” requests from teams that want to interview Kitchens to become their offensive coordinator. The team has declined those requests as they are permitted to do in the case of lateral moves and the only potential change would come if they hire a head coach who doesn’t want to keep Kitchens on the staff.
Given Kitchens’ work with quarterback Baker Mayfield and the entire offense after taking over the job in the wake of Todd Haley’s firing at midseason, it isn’t surprising that the Browns want to handle things this way.
If there is any surprise, it’s that other teams with head coaching openings haven’t tried to interview even if they just want to get a better idea about a coach whose profile grew much larger over the final weeks of the regular season.