Many questions concerning Browns’ offense

By STEVE KING

I’m good with everything the Browns have done with their coaching overhaul in the last six weeks.

Well, almost everything.

I’m still uneasy – incredibly so – with what’s been done on offense, specifically as it relates to the play-calling.

I’ve written about this once before, so it’s nothing new, but it came up once more on Thursday as head coach Freddie Kitchens’ three top lieutenants — coordinators Todd Monken (offense), Steve Wilks (defense) and Mike Priefer (special teams) – had their introductory press conferences at Browns Headquarters in Berea.

I’ll write about the other two next, but the one I’m going to deal with here and now is Monken.

He seems to be a bright offensive mind who has a lot of good – and varied – experienced. But I wonder what he’s going to do – what his job will be. That is, what is the offensive coordinator going to be coordinating if he’s not doing the play-calling?

Kitchens will do that, which is hardly surprising. This is his offense. That is a big reason – actually not just a big reason or even the biggest reason, but the whole reason – he got the job, and rightfully so. Understanding that, then, how will he use Monken?

And if you’re brought in as the coordinator and you’re not calling the plays, won’t you get frustrated and turned off after a while? Wouldn’t that, then, strain the relationship between the two men?

Then, too, can Kitchens, who has never been a head coach at any level, call the plays and at the same time do all of his assorted head-coaching duties?

I’m not sure. I think that will be very hard for him to do. I also think that the pressure of being the head coach and having to worry about all kinds of things concerning defense, special teams, injuries, substitutions and, very importantly, time management, is just too much stuff to worry about. It could well cause him to mess up both jobs.

Kitchens is good at play-calling. But he isn’t Andy Reid, who is a great head coach and a great offensive play-caller.

If Kitchens is to succeed – and with it if the offense and the Browns overall are to succeed — then he has to figure this thing out. If he doesn’t, then the current optimism about the Browns’ chances could end up amounting to nothing.

And that’s a big risk.