Freddie Kitchens goes out of his way to attend Darryl Drake funeral day of game
Freddie Kitchens showed how he orders his priorities when he chose to pay respects at the funeral of Darryl Drake on Saturday.
Kitchens, who is in his first year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, attended Drake’s funeral even though the Browns had a preseason game later in the day against the Colts.
Drake, who was in his second season as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receivers coach, died on Sunday at the age of 62. His funeral was held in Tennessee.
Though the Browns had a game in Indianapolis, NFL Media’s Stacey Dales reported that Kitchens still went to the funeral.
Darryl Drake’s funeral was today in Tennessee and @StaceyDales just reported that @Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, who worked w/ Coach Drake in Arizona, did attend – despite having a game in Indy shortly. https://t.co/YGKEYE27VM
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) August 17, 2019
Kitchens and Drake were on the Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff together from 2013-2017.
Kitchens was one of many football figures reported to be in attendance for the funeral. Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was excused from practice to speak at the funeral. Former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith reportedly attended, as did Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher.