Nick Saban had a lot of success bringing accomplished coaches to Tuscaloosa to help his Crimson Tide program in various off-field capacities over the years. It's a strategy that has been duplicated countless times over the years.
Last year, Dabo Swinney had former ECU head coach Mike Houston and former North Carolina receivers coach and veteran college assistant Lonnie Galloway working for the Tigers as volunteer roles while collecting buyout money owed to them from their previous employer.
Now Dabo is reportedly set to add another accomplished coaching veteran to his stable of volunteers.
Former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, who served as Bill Belichick's offensive coordinator last season at North Carolina, is set to join the Clemson staff as a volunteer according to reports.
Larry Williams of Tiger Illustrated first reported the move.
The 51-year old coaching veteran called the offense for the Tar Heels last season during their disappointing 4-8 debut season under Belichick, but was released in December after a 2-6 finish in ACC play.
Kitchens was set to make $1.2 million in base salary as the Tar Heels offensive play caller this coming season, so North Carolina will pay that while he works for Swinney and the Tigers now.
Kitchens and Swinney have a relationship that stretches back decades, as Kitchens was Alabama's starting quarterback in the late 90's while Swinney was playing receiver for the program.
As head coach of the Browns for one season in 2019 after earning a promotion from associate head coach / running backs coach, Kitchens led the franchise to a 6-10 record before he was ultimately dismissed. He had spent well over a decade working in the NFL from 2006 to 2021 coaching tight ends for the Cowboys and Cardinals before moving to quarterbacks and then running backs for Arizona.
Since leaving the league, he has spent time as an analyst at South Carolina under Shane Beamer, and then landed on staff at North Carolina under Mack Brown for the last few years of his tenure as tight ends coach, run game coordinator, and eventually as interim head coach.
With his NFL roots, Belichick's decision to retain Kitchens after the coaching transition made a lot of sense, but the Tar Heels struggled in a variety of areas in Belichick's first season, prompting him to hit the reset button with a flurry of staff changes including a change at special teams coordinator in addition to Kitchens at offensive coordinator.
At Clemson, Kitchens will assist a new-look offensive staff that moved on from Garret Riley after three seasons and brought back former offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who previously held the role from 2011-14.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.