Freddie Kitchens has landed a new job. The former Browns head coach is expected to join the Giants as their new tight ends coach, according to Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Kitchens was one-and-done as the Browns’ head coach in 2019. Under his watch, the Browns limped to a 6-10 finish. But, before that, Kitchens made a major impression in the league for his work on the Browns’ offensive coaching staff. When he took over as OC in 2018, the Baker Mayfield-led attack started to click in a major way and Kitchens was widely credited for getting Cleveland on track.
Kitchens won’t be considered for head coaching vacancies anytime soon, but he remains a well-regarded offensive coach. In New York, he’ll reunite with new head coach Joe Judge – the two men overlapped at Mississippi State.
As the Giants’ tight end coach, Kitchens will be responsible for the development of Ole Miss product Evan Engram. Engram, a 2017 first-round pick, has missed 13 games over the past two seasons, but he’s impressed while on the field. In an injury-shortened eight-game season, Engram finished 2019 with 44 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns.
New York is also adding Mizzou offensive coordinator Derek Dooley to its offensive staff, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Dooley worked as the Cowboys’ wide receivers coach from 2013-17 before returning to the collegiate ranks. He had previously served as the head coach for Louisiana Tech and Tennessee.
he did wonders with Njoku, I can see why they hired him…
So many young and innovative coaches ready for a chance in this league yet we continually see the same stale names passed back and forth between teams.
Such as?
Thrill us with your expertise in the exciting world of tight end coaching prospects.
Zach Morris, AC Slater, Richard Belding, Samuel Powers …. need I go on??
When you wake up in the morning, and the alarm gives out a warning…
Never mind. It’s alright…
Best word to describe Freddie Kitchens is befuddled. Certainly better suited as an Assistant but if I were the Giants I might have waited a bit to see who else was available.
Really? You would have waited? A guy who was a highly regarded OC, won 6 games with the browns (that’s like going 14-2 elsewhere) and they hired him as the tight ends coach… yes they should have kept waiting.
Garrett and Kitchens…. nice one….
They actually have a good young QB in Danny Dimes, a top 5 RB in Barkley and a nice young TE in Engram.
If they drafted well I could see real improvement but these guys as coaches are jokes
No. It’s two guys that are great coaches but bad HC. Let them focus on what they do and they can be good.
They also have two nice young receivers in Shepard and Slayton. As well as TE Kaden Smith.
This is great news. Giants play the Browns this season too so I hope that game is in Cleveland with Freddie getting some sweet payback for the raw deal they gave him.
Raw deal? He shouldn’t have been hired as a head coach to begin with. They gave him a chance and with a talented roster, he blew it. I imagine he’s still getting paid, so I don’t see a ‘raw deal’ here.
He couldn’t keep a team disciplined and didn’t show any ability to utilize the talent at his disposal. There were times he seemed to completely forget the fact that he had Nick Chubb. He also relied way too heavily on Baker. I’m still optimistic about Baker’s future, but even if he fully develops he’ll probably never be the type of guy that can single-handedly carry a team. Freddie making him throw 35 times a game wasn’t helping anyone, and he should have had a better idea of who he was working with. You can win with Baker, but you can’t win with Baker when you make him try to play hero ball. (It’s why I’m a fan of Stefanski; he’ll run the ball and use that to set up play action, which is more of Baker’s game.)
I expected there would be some growing pains, but even at the very end of the season he had shown no signs of progress. He wasn’t “learning,” he just wasn’t competent to lead an NFL team.
The only ones who got a “ Raw Deal” in Cleveland was the FANS. Hiring Kitchens with his resume was a JOKE , but of course it was a joke, it was Cleveland and Haslam.
RAW DEAL is an under appreciated 80s Arnie flick
NY media will love this. Giants better put a muzzle on him: “Pittsburgh started it”.