Kitchens threatens to fire any Browns staffer leaking information

It may be Freddie Kitchens' first preseason as a head coach, but he's already stamping his authority on the Cleveland Browns.

In order to limit information coming out of Browns camp, Kitchens threatened to fire any employee caught leaking news to the media.

"The days of inside information and the days of unnamed sources and stuff like that have ended," Kitchens said Monday, according to CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo. "So you're not going to get any information like that, ever. Anybody. And I ever see it, they're fired, immediately. And that's how we're running this organization. I can take it. (general manager) John Dorsey can take it. We won't crack, I promise you."

His comments come after former Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie, who was not retained after last season, recently criticized Kitchens.

Wylie said on "The Zach Gelb Show" that former Cleveland quarterbacks coach Kenny Zampese was responsible for the team's impressive second-half offensive run - not Kitchens. The Browns went 5-3 after Hue Jackson was fired and Kitchens was promoted to offensive coordinator. They began the season 2-5-1.

Wylie, who was a hit on HBO's 2018 season of "Hard Knocks," stated he was notified of the franchise's decision not to renew his contract by his daughter when he was in the hospital dealing with knee and ankle issues.

Kitchens, for his part, didn't want to dwell too long on the past.

"I know Bob Wylie to be a good person," said Kitchens, who worked alongside Wylie throughout the 2018 season. "And out of respect for his family, I won't get into any of that. Because he's a father, he's a husband, he's a granddad. (But) Bob knows what happened."

"Bob wasn't under contract," Kitchens continued. "He forgot to tell everybody that. He wasn't under contract. He had talked about retiring forever, alright? So, sometimes when a person says something, they have to be made to feel relevant, OK? Bob's a good person, and I don't wanna lose sight of that."