Browns introduce Kitchens as head coach

Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens said fans can get on board or get out of the way as he takes the reins in Cleveland.

Kitchens was formally introduced as coach on Monday, ending a nine-week search that began when Hue Jackson was fired.

"It takes some guts to do what they did -- I know I'm not a popular choice. And I don't care," Kitchens said. "You've got to block out the noise in this business. The noise gets you in trouble. ... They didn't care. They were doing what they thought was best for the organization."

Kitchens will remain the primary play-caller in Cleveland despite the addition of Todd Monken as offensive coordinator.

Kitchens said Monday that Monken opted for Cleveland because of the quality of the people on the staff, despite the perceived step down from his previous role as play-caller and offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Browns also filled their defensive coordinator vacancy, officially naming former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks to that position.

"When everyone's willing to check their ego at the door, that's when you're in position to be successful. We're going to be successful," Kitchens said. "The offense is whatever they wanted it to be. I was just the guy directing the choir. ... I just get people going and they decided what they wanted to be."

General manager John Dorsey said Kitchens' vision for the team and his ability to collaborate -- a noted shortcoming for previous head coach Jackson -- and coordinate set the first-time head coach apart from other candidates.

"Honestly, I've got a lot of confidence in myself," he said. "When I knew it was possible was whenever John (Dorsey) told me I was interviewing for the job. I try not to lie too much. I meant it when I said, 'I'm one day at a time.' You have to have a vision for the future, eliminate some road blocks along the way. ... This is the most important time for me as a head coach, is the staff I've built."

Kitchens will report directly to Dorsey. The structure change shifted from the existing protocol, which called for Jackson to report to owner Jimmy Haslam.

Monken, who turns 53 in February, was a candidate for head-coaching openings with the Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets and also drew interest as a coordinator from several other teams, including Jacksonville and Detroit.

He took over playcalling from Dirk Koetter in Tampa Bay this season, his third as offensive coordinator, and helped the Bucs' offense finish third in yards and 12th in points. The Bucs did not bring Monken back after hiring new head coach Bruce Arians, whose offensive coordinator will be Byron Leftwich.

Wilks, 49, was fired less than a calendar year after taking over the Cardinals, who finished with the NFL's worst record this season at 3-13, a job he got after shining as a coordinator with the Carolina Panthers.

Arizona's defense ranked 20th in yards and 26th in scoring, but Wilks helped Carolina finish seventh and 11th, respectively, in 2017, his only previous experience as an NFL coordinator. Wilks was a defensive backs coach for four teams from 2005 through 2016 before taking over as coordinator in Carolina.

He is replacing Gregg Williams, who served as interim head coach for the second half of 2018 but was let go when Kitchens was promoted to head coach last week.

"I'm probably going to offend some people saying this, but if you don't self-promote sometimes you can get overlooked," Kitchens said. "I'm just going to do my job. I was always under the assumption, if you do your job well enough, you'll get recognized."

--Field Level Media