CLEVELAND — Following his team's 1-2 start to the 2019 season, Freddie Kitchens may not be feeling the heat just yet.
But at least one sportsbook is willing to accept wagers on whether or not the Cleveland Browns head coach will make it past the bye week of his first season in charge.
On Tuesday, online sportsbook Bovada released odds for who the Browns' head coach will be in Cleveland's Week 8 matchup vs. the New England Patriots. That contest comes a week after the Browns' Week 7 bye, which has often been considered a naturally breaking point for NFL teams to make in-season coaching changes.
At -3000 odds, Kitchens is a heavy favorite to remain the Browns' head coach, a position he was hired for in January after an eight-game stint as the team's offensive coordinator. To put that number in perspective, that means a bettor would have to risk $3000 in order to earn a $100 profit on a successful wager.
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While Kitchens' may be a heavy favorite -- and such odds are typically only produced to garner attention for the sportsbook -- it's interesting nonetheless to take a look at Cleveland's other candidates.
At +850 (bet $100 to win $850), current Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has the "best" odds to replace Kitchens, with offensive coordinator Todd Monken (+1000) and former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy (+2500) also listed.
Bovada's Browns-related odds come just two days after Cleveland lost to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 20-13 on Sunday Night Football. Throughout the contest, Kitchens was criticized for his play-calling, which included a draw play on 4th-and-9 in the fourth quarter and four straight incomplete passes at the Rams' 4-yard line on the Browns' final offensive drive of the game.
Yet despite Kitchens admitting after the game that he could have done a better job, the former Alabama quarterback isn't ready to give up his play-calling duties -- let alone, lose his job.
“That’s not being considered,” Kitchens said of the possibility of him handing over pla-calling. “As you move forward, and I have to understand this, I know our coaches understand this and I think our team understands this is that some of these situations are new for me. I understand that, but I also understand that I will get better from it and I understand our team will get better from them. Our team has not been in that situation before, so our team will get better. The next time that arises, we will be better.”
