CLEVELAND — Another new coaching era is set to begin in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Browns introduced new head coach Freddie Kitchens on Monday as the team held a news conference from FirstEnergy Stadium:
Kitchens' promotion from offensive coordinator to head coach was formally announced Saturday, though reports of his hiring had filtered from various media outlets in previous days.
Kitchens also announced his promotion in a video posted to the Browns' Twitter account Saturday:
Kitchens is the 17th full-time head coach in the history of the Browns organization and the ninth since the team returned to the National Football League ahead of the 1999 season.
Hired on Jan. 24, 2018, Kitchens was initially the running backs coach and associate head coach. During an unprecedented staff upheaval at the midway point of the 2018 season, Kitchens took over the play-calling duties when coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were dismissed.
According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, quarterback Baker Mayfield tilted the scales in favor of Kitchens, whom the “football people,” led by general manager John Dorsey, liked more than Minnesota Vikings interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, the favored candidate of the “analytics guys,” namely chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta.
Kitchens has also hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coach Todd Monken as offensive coordinator and former Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator.