CLEVELAND -- To say that the job that Gregg Williams has done as the Cleveland Browns' interim head coach has been impressive would be a gross understatement.
Since replacing Hue Jackson at the end of October, Williams has helped turn the Browns into one of the hottest teams in football, amassing a 5-2 record heading into Sunday's regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
Regardless of what happens in Baltimore, Williams has made a heckuva case for being retained on a full-time basis. And yet, the fact that he might not be may be even more telling.
The 60-year-old Williams has coached in the NFL for the past 28 seasons, including a three-year stint as the Buffalo Bills head coach in which he compiled a 17-31 record. If he was going to be the next big thing as a head coach -- one worthy of overseeing Baker Mayfield's development moving forward -- one would think we would know it by now.
That's not to say that the Browns' head coach of the future might not already be in Berea.
While Williams has done a more-than-admirable job in the last two months, the best argument for keeping him on board is the continuity offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens would presumably provide Mayfield. But if Kitchens is so crucial to Cleveland's future that he's influencing key hires, shouldn't he be getting his own head coaching consideration?
After all, if Kitchens is as good as advertised -- and there's no reason to believe at this point he isn't -- any extended time as the Browns' offensive coordinator won't last long. All it would take would be one more season with Mayfield starring in his offense before teams came calling with their own head coaching offers.
Speaking with reporters last week, the 44-year-old Kitchens confirmed that becoming an NFL head coach is in fact his ultimate goal.
"Definitely," Kitchens said. "No doubt."
He also made it clear that he sees Cleveland as a potential long-term home -- a place that meshes well with his blue-collar upbringing.
“I like it here,” Kitchens said. “I like it here a lot. Everybody around here knows that I like it here. I love the town of Cleveland. Cleveland and I get along well. I did not have a dad as a coach, did not have a starting point in this league. I grew up the son of a tire maker at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant in Gadsden, Alabama.”
There would be some inherent risk in promoting Kitchens, whose experience as a coordinator has been limited to the past seven games. It's one thing to prove your worth as a premiere play-caller. It's another to run an entire team.
But since taking over as the Browns' offensive coordinator, Kitchens has made the most of his opportunity -- perhaps even more than Williams has. Mayfield's progress has been undeniable, as has the impressiveness of Kitchens' play-calling, which has routinely put playmakers such as Nick Chubb, David Njoku, Antonio Callaway, Breshard Perriman, Rashard Higgins, Duke Johnson and Jarvis Landry in positions to succeed.
There could be another way as well.
In Arizona, Kitchens coached under Bruce Arians, who has expressed interest in the Browns' opening on multiple occasions. Should the 66-year-old Arians get his wish, he could keep Kitchens on as offensive coordinator and head coach-in-waiting, as could perhaps Williams.
Such arrangements in the NFL, however, are uncommon and perhaps for good reason. While giving Kitchens a "coach-in-waiting" title might be a short-term solution, it wouldn't stop other teams from sniffing around with a more immediate offer.
Plus, if the Browns feel Kitchens is the next big thing -- in a way that Williams clearly isn't -- why wait?
After Cleveland's 26-18 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, a photo of Kitchens, Mayfield and Browns general manager John Dorsey made the rounds on social media.
Perhaps the picture was the product of happenstance, the reality of a jubilant celebration in a crowded locker room.
But it's also beginning to appear possible that the very same trio could have plenty more to celebrate with one another in the coming weeks.