The Browns broomed Freddie Kitchens this week, and how anyone could be surprised is beyond me.  Good guy. Fun guy. Colorful guy.  But some say he was over his head. I disagree.

He clearly knows many aspects of football, and has made a living in it for a long time.  There were times he looked confused, and disorganized for sure, but I'm not sure most first year head coaches aren't the same way at times.  Freddie's downfall was his not understanding the role, plain and simple.  To me, the number one job of the NFL Head Coach is to create a culture where big ego's, and bigger paid athletes want to play for far more than just the money.  The money is there, the heart was not.  Kitchens didn't do that. 

Freddie was trapped within his own ego.  He was so busy reinventing a game, that doesn't need to be reinvented.  Trying to convince other head coaches that he belonged. Insisting on calling his own plays.  A whole list of bone-headed trick plays at the wrong time.  Ridiculous going for it on fourth downs,  headscratching two-point conversion attempts, and mismanaging virtually every aspect of the game, viturally every week.  All he did was make better, more seasoned coaches laugh, at times, I'm sure out loud.  But he was going to be the smartest guy in the room.  I would love to have heard visiting coaches talk in their offices after playing the Browns.

Being a leader of men, in a game where men put it all on the line is a tough job.  You need to make these guys want to walk through fire for you, when you are already asking them to dodge bullets.  And you have to do that while not being able to put yourself in the same harms way.  It's an art.  You need to make these guys love one another, play for the guy next to them.  Make them want to be a champion, dream to be a champion, or go down playing and acting like one.  All of that was forgotten, and chaos, gossip, immaturity, and selfishness ruled the day. 

A team often mimmicks its coach, like the Tribe does with Francona. The Indians play hard, are likable, and play it the right way.   The Browns went the other way with selfish motives, a ME first agenda, and an immaturity seldom seen in the NFL. I think we all wish him well.  But now it's time to move on, and go in the exact opposite direction.

Not just in the record, but in the understanding of the job.