Jarvis Landry Addresses the Browns Coaching Situation
Cleveland Browns pro bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry addressed Cleveland media this afternoon following the front offices decision to relieve Freddie Kitchens of his coaching duties. Reporters asked Landry about his thoughts on Freddie Kitchens, how the season unfolded, and what the team could use from their next head coaching candidate.
Following the season ending loss yesterday to the Cincinnati Bengals, Jarvis Landry spoke to media at his locker and gave his thoughts on finishing the season 6-10.
“If you really look at how we played last year and how we finished the season, you would think coming into this season we would be ready to make that jump. We just quite couldn’t get it done.”
He also responded to questions about Freddie Kitchens job security prior to the decision to fire Kitchens, stating “I don’t know. That’s not my job and not my call. We will see what ownership does. But 6-10 was definitely not acceptable.”
Browns ownership made the decision to fire Kitchens Sunday evening and start the search for a new head coach. Then in Monday’s media availability session, Jarvis Landry reviewed the offensive struggles throughout the season and commented on Freddie Kitchens as a head coach.
“I think Freddie was a hard-working guy. He came to work, called plays to put us in the best position possible. I wouldn’t say he was necessarily in over his head. I’ll just say that he tried his best to make sure we had the opportunity to win the game.”
Although, his response is shedding the best possible light on the former head coach, other quotes from his media session highlights that Freddie Kitchens inexperience was a problem. The responses below summarize the impact of his coaching throughout the season:
“There were just opportunities in games where, on the outside, we could have taken advantage of teams’ weaknesses and we didn’t. We just didn’t really know what the plan was or what we were trying to do. I don’t think we ever really found our identity.”
“We relied too much on plays, not players, especially on the offensive side of the ball”
“There are always times in seasons when things happen. In crucial points in the game, being able to hold your composure, being able to talk to each other, treat everybody with respect. I just think at times, there was a lack thereof.”
It was obvious that Freddie Kitchens was overwhelmed during his short tenure as head coach. The team was undisciplined and never established an offensive identity. Now the team is searching for it’s fifth head coach in six years.
Jarvis Landry stated that leadership is what is needed most for team, and the next coach is “someone who demands respect, someone who respects his players and someone who respects opponents.” These are all important traits and should have a major role in the hiring decision.
Landry also showed confidence in the front office to make the best decision for the team. He said, “I trust the ownership. I trust Mr. Dorsey, everybody upstairs to go out and find the right guy for this organization and us, as players.”
There is still optimism surrounding the Browns because of their talented roster. Landry supports this ideal telling reporters, “This may have been the most talent we’ve had in one room, that you’ve seen in one room, for this amount time and you still have more time. You don’t want to lose that; you want to take advantage of it when you have it.”
The players in the locker room believe they have the talent to be successful. Now the pressure is on general manager John Dorsey and the Haslam’s to hire the right coaching staff to provide veteran leadership to a young talented team.
