Presupposing 101

As the National Football League rumor mills continue to churn, the rumor dealing with Freddie Kitchens’ job status with the Browns is beginning to heat up.

While we have no idea how that is unraveling in Berea, the one constant is the Browns would be reticent to fire Kitchens if the club wins two of the final three games and finishes 8-8.

How does a team fire a rookie head coach who betters last season’s record? What would be the rationale behind such a move?

From a public relations standpoint, it probably would be met with as much surprise as was his appointment to that post at the beginning of the year. It just would not look good.

As the season winds down, and this is major presupposing here, discussions between ownership and the football people in the front office are almost certainly underway with next season in mind.

Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam III have chosen to remain in the background this season. Fans have no idea know what thoughts course through their minds as to how they think the club has performed.

That is rare for Jimmy III, who until now has not been shy about sharing his thoughts about his billion-dollar enterprise. He has been conspicuously silent since the arrival of General Manager John Dorsey.

For all we know, those two very well might be discussing Kitchens in a number of ways, including evaluating the progress the Browns have made this season. The fact they have won four of the last five games certainly might be at the top of the list with regard to his future on the lakefront.

Flip that coin and you discover discipline has been a problem all season. So have clock management at crucial times and failure to think at least a play or two ahead. How often, particularly in the first half of the season, have fans noted the Browns were outcoached?

The argument can be made that with any kind of just decent head coaching, they would be 9-4 at this juncture, not 6-7. At the risk of being repetitious, losses to the Los Angeles Rams (when they were struggling early), Denver and New England were winnable games.

Again presupposing, Dorsey must certainly be aware of these failures.  He can’t be thrilled with Kitchens’ strange – and often bizarre – play calling and the season-long problems on the offensive side of the football, where he is in charge.

At the same time, as the headmaster of the roster Dorsey has got to take a sizable portion of the blame for the less-than-mediocre performance of the offensive line. Fixing that should be his prime objective next season.

For right now, though, Kitchens’ job might be hanging in the balance if his general manager has convinced himself he made a mistake by elevating the journeyman position coach 11 months ago.

If that, indeed, is the case and he wants to bring in a more wizened and seasoned head coach, one who has been a winner in the NFL in the past, he might get some pushback from his owner for one important reason.

Haslam is already paying Hue Jackson not to coach the Browns. Adding Kitchens to that list most likely would sit well with him. Convincing the boss cashiering Kitchens is for the betterment of the team will take some creative and powerful lobbying.

Again, this is presupposition. We do not know for certain that is happening. But it sure would make sense if it were. Clearly food for thought as the season winds down.