The Browns got pasted by the Cardinals in Arizona on Sunday to fall to 6-8 in a season that’s been a disappointment across the board.
Among the disappointing developments has been how Freddie Kitchens has done in his first season as the team’s head coach. The team’s losing record has been accompanied by a lack of discipline on the field and a parade of off-field issues that have blown up over the course of the season.
That’s led to speculation that Kitchens could be done after one year in Cleveland. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported before Sunday’s game that Kitchens would return “barring a horrific collapse or circumstance” over the final weeks of the season. It’s not clear if losing 38-24 to a 3-9-1 Cardinals squad qualifies, but Kitchens wasn’t talking his future in any event.
“I don’t care about my future as Browns coach,” Kitchens said, via Cleveland.com. “I’m going to show up Monday, and I’m going to do the best job I can do Monday. And that’s tomorrow. That’s the only thing I can control.”
The Browns close out the season against the Ravens and Bengals. They’ve beaten both of those teams already this season and pulling off sweeps would be a mark in favor of Kitchens’s return for a second season in Cleveland. If they come out as flat as they did in Arizona, however, it will be interesting to see what happens once Week 17 comes to an end.