Kitchens checking both boxes is no laughing matter
By STEVE KING
In the big picture, it doesn’t matter what Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens says.
It really doesn’t, obviously.
The only thing that matters is what he does.
After all, have you ever heard of a guy named Bill Belichick?
But if Kitchens talks a good game – and I feel it’s safe to say that he will — and then produces one, it would make everything so much more fun.
When I think about Kitchens, I have begun thinking about former Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano of the Kardiac Kids days. When the Browns were going well, which they were in especially 1980 and even in 1979, it was really cool listening to Sam’s quips, one-liners and jokes as he described what was going on.
I think Kitchens has that within him – but in a different way. Sam is from Brooklyn and is a polished speaker, whether to three people or an entire group. Kitchens is from Alabama and has a lot of good ol’ boy in him. His English may not always be perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. His calling card is his complete honesty, and that he has a big heart. That’s a good combination.
Chris Palmer, the first head coach of the new Browns, was an honest and friendly guy, too, but he was not a great speaker.
Butch Davis had a Southern twang and talked out of the side of his mouth.
Romeo Crennel was like your uncle from the country. He was solid as a rock, but he never said much that was interesting.
Eric Mangini was a liar and a nasty person, especially when he thought no one was looking, or listening.
Pat Shurmur was a great guy deep down aside, but he didn’t like the media and thought its members were out to get him.
Rob Chudzinski spoke with great passion about the Browns in having grown up a fan.
Mike Pettine was straight-laced.
Hue Jackson liked to talk, but it was hard to quite him for any length of time because he was all over the place.
But no matter their personalities or styles, none of them won for any substantial length of time. It won’t matter what Freddie Kitchens’s is, as long as he wins.
And if excels in both regards, then all the better. It’s about time that the Browns get someone like that.
