Freddie Kitchens


Charles Frederick Kitchens Jr. is an American football coach who is the tight ends coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He previously served as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and an assistant coach for the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Mississippi State Bulldogs, North Texas Mean Green, LSU Tigers and Glenville State College Pioneers. Kitchens served as the Browns head coach for the 2019 season.

College Playing Career

Freddie Kitchens was a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1993 to 1998, during which time he threw for 4,668 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. In his three seasons as a starter, Alabama went 22–13 and won the 1993 Gator Bowl, the 1995 Citrus Bowl, and the 1997 Outback Bowl.
At the time of his departure, he ranked third in the school's history in career passing attempts, fourth in career passing yards, and fifth in career completions.

NFL Coaching career

Dallas Cowboys

Following his college career, he served as an assistant coach for several college teams, before joining the Dallas Cowboys staff as tight ends coach in 2006 under Bill Parcells.

Arizona Cardinals

Kitchens then worked on the Arizona Cardinals staff for 11 years, from 2007 to 2017. He coached multiple positions including; tight ends, quarterbacks, and running backs.

Cleveland Browns

In 2018, Kitchens was hired as running backs coach for the Cleveland Browns.
On October 29, 2018, after week 8 of the 2018 season, the Browns fired head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Gregg Williams was named interim head coach, and Kitchens was promoted to offensive coordinator. The Browns finished the season with a 5–3 record, after a 2–5–1 start under Jackson. Kitchens was credited for the improvement of the Browns offense and was also acknowledged for helping Baker Mayfield have a successful rookie season. Mayfield was a runner-up for NFL rookie of the year.
On January 12, 2019, Kitchens was named head coach by the Cleveland Browns. On September 8, 2019, the Browns lost to the Tennessee Titans by a score of 43–13 in Kitchens' head coaching debut. The loss marked the 15th consecutive week one without a win for the Browns, whose week one record since 2004 is 0–14–1. After the final game of the season, December 29, 2019, Kitchens was fired after just one season as head coach; only a few hours after a 33-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

New York Giants

On January 27, 2020, the New York Giants hired Kitchens as their tight ends coach. His hiring was strongly supported by newly hired Giants head coach Joe Judge, who had worked with Kitchens at Mississippi State. The two are reportedly good friends.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Kitchens has two daughters, Bennett and Camden, with his wife, Ginger.
In 2013, Kitchens underwent emergency surgery to repair an aortic dissection.