Freddie Kitchens wanted the opportunity to call plays. He just didn't want it under these kind of circumstances.
Cleveland's new offensive coordinator is taking over the position vacated by Todd Haley, who was relieved of his duties Monday. Haley and Kitchens are close and have coached together for years.
It's not ideal, but that hasn't stymied Kitchens' motivation to help the Browns' offense rebound from an inconsistent first half to the season.
"I am here to do a job and I am going to do the job," Kitchens said Thursday.
"What I hope we are able to do and hope to accomplish is that we are able to execute better, do the things the way that we are supposed to do them, how we are supposed to do them and when we are supposed to do them. If we do all of those things and have good communication in doing that, we will be successful. When we are successful, that has what has happened. When we are not successful, that is not what has happened."
Kitchens, who was the team's running backs coach before the dismissal of Haley and head coach Hue Jackson, hasn't spent his week drawing up new plays or redesigning the overall philosophy of Cleveland's offense. Rather, it's been all about executing the plays at the highest possible level.
The Browns offense has done just that in spurts, but never from start to finish in a 60-minute game. Mired with first-quarter struggles all season, the unit had its best start of the year last week at Pittsburgh but came away with just two field goals to show for it. The unit completely disappeared in the third quarter with the game in balance and never recovered.
Fixing that aspect of the offense will put the Browns a lot closer toward Kitchens' ultimate goal as offensive coordinator.
"The No. 1 thing I would like to bring is a win, and one more point than the other team. That is all," Kitchens said. "I do not care about any stat other than the win, and that is just how it has always been. I am a hell of a lot happier after we win than after we lose.
"Know what looks good, know what the players' comfort level is. Calling plays they can make make a play-caller look great if they execute. I fully expect them to make me look great."
Sunday will be Kitchens' official debut as an offensive coordinator at any level but it won't be his first time calling plays for the Browns. He handled those responsibilities in Cleveland's preseason finale at Detroit -- a game that featured a lightning quick start from the offense, which was led by rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Kitchens joked he was just happy the Browns didn't commit any delay of game penalties while he called plays. Still, it was an important experience that proves to be even more valuable in hindsight.
The game Sunday against the Chiefs matters a whole lot more than the one Kitchens called in the preseason but it provided him with the kind of reps he hopes prove valuable through the rest of the regular season.
"I will prepare during the course of the week, and have been preparing during the course of the week, so hopefully it makes it easier on Sundays," Kitchens said. "I have things to pull from, experiences and things like that, but there are no two games that are ever going to be called the same. Everybody is an individual and everybody has different philosophies and different mindsets on how they want to approach the game. I am sure that it going to be different. We will see how it goes."
