BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens is fast becoming a master of the “one-liner,” and he has not even gotten to the first practice of training camp, which gets underway at team headquarters in Berea on Thursday.
Speaking with the media alongside general manager John Dorsey on the eve of the start of training camp, Kitchens brought his “A-game” with the quotes.
Here is a look at some of Kitchens’ more memorable quotes from Wednesday’s press conference in Berea.
“If you’re not going to jump…”
Kitchens made it emphatically clear that he wants players and assistant coaches that are willing to put in the work to find success on Sundays in the fall.
“If we don’t have 53 guys here at the end of this thing that that’s their goal, then they’re in the wrong business and they’re doing us and the Cleveland Browns a disservice,” Kitchens said. “I want them to have that goal, but I want them to understand how they get there, and it’s not by talking about it, it’s not by predicting it. But also, don’t want them to be scared to go get it.
“If you’re not going to jump out of the airplane, don’t put the parachute on. And I want people that’ll put the parachute on.”
Lofty goal
While much of the hype and positive talk about the Browns ahead of the 2019 season has come from outside the building, those in orange and brown have some lofty goals for the year, and that is not likely to change under Kitchens’ watch.
“I want everybody to understand this: Our goal here with the Cleveland Browns, as long as I’m here, will always be to win the Super Bowl,” Kitchens said. “Now that’s the last time I’m going to say that. Just know and make it a given that that’s what I believe to my core, is to win the Super Bowl.”
Hungry for wins
It is one thing for teams to have talent and quite another to materialize those skills into success on game days, and no one knows that better than Browns fans.
Since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, hope has sprung eternal in Cleveland, but with the additions to the roster over the last two offseasons, there is plenty of reason for optimism, and Kitchens gave one more during the conference.
“Odell’s a great player,” Kitchens said. “I like great players that want to win. I feel like he wants to win. I like great players that want to be themselves. He’s going to be allowed to be himself. I like great players that can make plays with the ball in his hands.”
Same old Baker…
How has second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield responded to the increased attention and celebrity that comes with being a successful NFL player? According to Kitchens, Mayfield is the same as he always has been since being selected by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
“He’s still just Baker to me,” Kitchens said. “Baker’s going to be himself. He’s not going to change for anyone.
“Baker hasn’t changed. He hasn’t changed from when he first got here as a rookie from the standpoint of how he is in the locker room and how he is as a person.”
