Kitchens' fast coaching track lands him with Parcells, Dallas
By Ben Thomas
Montgomery Advertiser
Freddie Kitchens can laugh a little when he looks back on his coaching career.
"Glenville State sure seems a long way away right now," he said earlier this week.
Kitchens, the former Alabama quarterback who seemed to always receive more ridicule than praise during his college career, was hired last week as tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys.
Monday was his first day on the job.
His coaching career has been on the fast track almost since Day 1. He spent one year at the aforementioned Glenville State College in West Virginia.
From there he spent a year under Nick Saban at LSU, three years as an assistant at North Texas and the last two working with Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State.
His boss now? Bill Parcells.
"I've been very blessed with the opportunities I've had, that's for sure," Kitchens said. "I've tried to make good decisions on career moves along the way. I try not to take any decision lightly. It's been great so far."
It's hard not to be happy for Kitchens.
Though he's never admitted it to me and I haven't heard him say anything publicly, he had a tough couple of years at Alabama. Period.
He'd be the first to say he brought some of it on himself.
But he didn't have much control over a lot of it.
He was booed on countless occasions, challenged consistently by his coaches and, worse than anything else, benched before his final regular-season college game at Auburn.
Yet his name is still etched favorably in the Alabama record book. He is in the top five in most career passing categories including touchdowns (30), yards (4,668), attempts (680) and completions (343).
In 1997, he threw 135 passes without being intercepted.
His 94-yard touchdown pass to Michael Vaughn in the SEC Championship Game against Florida still ranks as the longest scoring play in school history.
Still, seldom, if ever, does his name come up when most people talk about former Alabama quarterbacks.
That doesn't seem to bother Kitchens. It never has.
He accepts what he's dealt, does the best he can and moves forward. He doesn't look back.
"Everything that happened to me at Alabama happened for a reason," he said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. Clearly, it helped prepare me to be where I am today. It's all relative."
Montgomery Advertiser
Freddie Kitchens can laugh a little when he looks back on his coaching career.
"Glenville State sure seems a long way away right now," he said earlier this week.
Kitchens, the former Alabama quarterback who seemed to always receive more ridicule than praise during his college career, was hired last week as tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys.
Monday was his first day on the job.
His coaching career has been on the fast track almost since Day 1. He spent one year at the aforementioned Glenville State College in West Virginia.
From there he spent a year under Nick Saban at LSU, three years as an assistant at North Texas and the last two working with Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State.
His boss now? Bill Parcells.
"I've been very blessed with the opportunities I've had, that's for sure," Kitchens said. "I've tried to make good decisions on career moves along the way. I try not to take any decision lightly. It's been great so far."
It's hard not to be happy for Kitchens.
Though he's never admitted it to me and I haven't heard him say anything publicly, he had a tough couple of years at Alabama. Period.
He'd be the first to say he brought some of it on himself.
But he didn't have much control over a lot of it.
He was booed on countless occasions, challenged consistently by his coaches and, worse than anything else, benched before his final regular-season college game at Auburn.
Yet his name is still etched favorably in the Alabama record book. He is in the top five in most career passing categories including touchdowns (30), yards (4,668), attempts (680) and completions (343).
In 1997, he threw 135 passes without being intercepted.
His 94-yard touchdown pass to Michael Vaughn in the SEC Championship Game against Florida still ranks as the longest scoring play in school history.
Still, seldom, if ever, does his name come up when most people talk about former Alabama quarterbacks.
That doesn't seem to bother Kitchens. It never has.
He accepts what he's dealt, does the best he can and moves forward. He doesn't look back.
"Everything that happened to me at Alabama happened for a reason," he said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. Clearly, it helped prepare me to be where I am today. It's all relative."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:52 PM
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