Tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens enters his sixth season on the Cardinals coaching staff and seventh in the NFL after he was hired by Arizona on 2/6/07. He began his NFL coaching career in 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys after seven years of collegiate coaching experience following a successful stint as a quarterback at the University of Alabama. In 10 years as a player and coach at the college level, Kitchens was a part of teams that captured three conference titles and played in seven bowl games.
Tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens enters his sixth season on the Cardinals coaching staff and seventh in the NFL after he was hired by Arizona on 2/6/07. He began his NFL coaching career in 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys after seven years of collegiate coaching experience following a successful stint as a quarterback at the University of Alabama. In 10 years as a player and coach at the college level, Kitchens was a part of teams that captured three conference titles and played in seven bowl games.
In 2011, Kitchens oversaw a stable of tight ends that featured free agent additions Todd Heap and Jeff King, as well as third-round draft pick Rob Housler and second-year player Jim Dray. Kitchens’ tight end group contributed 65 receptions for 712 yards and four touchdowns last season, with King tying a career high with three touchdown receptions. In 2007, Kitchens tight end trio of Leonard Pope, Ben Patrick, and Troy Bienemann helped the Cardinals finish with the fifth best passing offense in the NFL as well as helping to record 32 passing touchdowns, a franchise record. As a group, the eight touchdowns caught by the tight ends were the most by the Cardinals since 1988 and the trio also recorded six red zone touchdowns, helping the Cardinals to the second-best red zone scoring offense in the NFL (94.0%).
With Dallas in 2006, Kitchens helped tutor Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten to his third consecutive trip to Hawaii. Witten finished the season with 64 receptions for 754 yards (11.8 yard avg.) and one touchdown while starting in all 16 games.
Kitchens came to Dallas after a two-year stint at Mississippi State University where he coached running backs (2005) and tight ends (2004). In 2005, he guided Jerious Norwood, a 2006 third-round NFL Draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons, to a 1,180-yard season, becoming just the second runner to post back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons in school history. Norwood finished his Bulldogs career with a school-record 3,222 career rushing yards. In his first season on the Bulldogs staff in 2004, Kitchens helped implement the West Coast offense that gained tight end Eric Butler All-SEC freshman recognition while setting a Mississippi State single-season record with four touchdown receptions from his tight end position.
He served as the running backs coach at the University of North Texas from 2001-03 and contributed to Mean Green clubs that won three straight Sun Belt Conference titles. In 2003, running back Patrick Cobbs rushed for 1,680 yards and scored 19 touchdowns, earning the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year award while also leading the nation with a 152.7 yards per game average. During his previous two seasons, Kitchens developed Kevin Galbreath into the first back in school history to rush for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. The 2,372 yards gained on the ground in 2002 were the most at North Texas since 1959.
Kitchens joined the North Texas staff after one season as a graduate assistant at LSU (2000) where he served on Nick Saban's first Tiger staff, managing the offensive scout team and helping with special teams. That team went 9-4, including a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl. After a one-year stint playing professionally in Italy in the spring of 1999, he began his coaching career as an assistant at Glenville State College that fall, coaching both running backs and tight ends.
A three-year starter at quarterback for the University of Alabama (1995-97), Kitchens finished his playing career with 4,668 yards and 30 touchdown passes for the Crimson Tide. Upon his departure, he ranked third in Alabama history in career attempts, fourth in career passing yards and fifth in career completions. Alabama went 22-13 during those three seasons and went to the 1993 Gator Bowl, 1994 Citrus Bowl, and the 1996 Outback Bowl.
A native of Gadsden, AL, Kitchens earned high school All-America honors and was named Mr. Football in the state of Alabama his senior season. He and his wife, Ginger, have two daughters: Bennett and Camden.
