Niner Noise
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NFL hot seat: 5 head coaches who’ll be under scrutiny in 2019

By Peter Panacy

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Head coach Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions looks on prior to the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Head coach Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions looks on prior to the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – DECEMBER 23: Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens looks on during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – DECEMBER 23: Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens looks on during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

This is going to sound weird, but let’s go ahead and put newly minted Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens on the NFL hot seat entering 2019.

It’s rare to see teams part ways with head coaches only a year into their respective tenures. But, hey. The Arizona Cardinals just did it with Steve Wilks (he’s now on the Browns’ staff as defensive coordinator).

Still, it was something of a shock to see the Browns go with Kitchens over 2018 interim head coach Gregg Williams, who helped turn around the mess former head coach Hue Jackson left in his wake. Kitchens, however, certainly increased his stock with his work alongside then-rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield, whose second-half efforts revealed he could be an excellent signal-caller for the long run.

All that said, Kitchens never served in a coordinator role prior to being promoted as such midway through last year. Before joining the Browns staff in 2018, he served as a tight ends, quarterbacks and running backs coach with the Cowboys and Cardinals, respectively.

Kitchens’ continued success with Mayfield could make any hot-seat talk a moot point. Yet the lack of experience in being a head coach or elongated coordinator could all blow up in his face, too.

And that could prompt yet another change in Cleveland.