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Crennel would consider staying with Browns


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Guest Aloysius
Crennel would consider staying with Browns

by Mary Kay Cabot

Monday December 29, 2008, 10:06 PM

 

Romeo Crennel, fired by the Browns Monday morning, made it clear in a phone interview that there's only one way he'd consider remaining with the team: if the new head coach really wanted him.

 

"You don't want to get into a situation where somebody other than the head coach is hiring the coaches because now you've got a situation that might not work best," said Crennel. "And for this organization to move forward, they need key people on the same page, going in the same direction."

 

Crennel, of course, was stripped of his ability to hire most of his assistants after he made a mistake on offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon in 2005. He also didn't have much of a say in player acquisition, including his desire to bring in key veterans this season to plug gaping holes.

 

But despite the fact it was obvious that he and fired general manager Phil Savage weren't on the same page, Crennel refused to use that as an excuse.

 

"As it turned out, we were both held accountable, both Phil and myself for our record and we're both out of a job and that's the bottom line," said Crennel. "Whatever the reasons are, no one really cares. It's just like on Sunday -- did you win or lose? That you're playing with the fourth quarterback doesn't matter. We're both accountable and we have to answer for that."

 

Crennel said he told owner Randy Lerner that he'd be open to staying, but only under the right circumstances.

 

"You'd have to be careful about how it would be looked on by the new people coming in," he said. "They don't want anyone looking over their shoulder, particularly someone who was here before. Even though the position might not be one they're directly in charge of, human nature gets into this thing a little bit. If that's their perception, whether it's right or wrong, it might impact their judgement or impact the way they do things."

 

Crennel said he'd keep an open mind. Crennel has a great relationship with Patriots Vice President Scott Pioli, who's up for the GM job, and Pioli might want Crennel to stay.

 

"I'd have to sit down and talk to Scott about it, but moreso than Scott, I'd have to talk to the head coach," he said. "That would be the major factor."

 

Lerner has also expressed interest in fired Jets coach Eric Mangini, who's a close friend of Crennel's from their days with the Patriots.

 

"Eric and I have a good relationship," Crennel said. "I like Eric a lot. Still, I'd have to sit down and talk with Eric about what his capacity is, about what his vision is and then he'd make a determination from there."

 

Crennel also thanked the fans for their support over the past few years and Lerner for giving him the opportunity. He said the firing is tough "but I'm hanging in there."

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Guest ATENEARS

Crennel has been a class act. From Insiders such as Dieken, Jim Donovan, Sam Rutiliano, Tony Grossi, etc .. they've stated that Romeo may have been the ONLY class act in the Berea complex.

 

 

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Guest 88fingerslewy

"I'd have to sit down and talk to Scott ...."

 

That tells me Romeo let the cat out of the bag that Pioli's hiring is a done deal and the interview tomorrow will be academic....then the official announcement tomorrow afternoon in Berea.

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Guest Aloysius
"I'd have to sit down with Scott ...."

 

That tells me Romeo let the cat out of the bag that Pioli's hiring is a done deal and the interview tomorrow will be academic....then the official announcement tomorrow afternoon in Berea.

I hope you're right about that.

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i don't want a belichick/parcells 3-4 disciple at DC. regardless of the base scheme we run, though i vastly prefer the 3-4, i want a DC who will bring in a one-gap, attacking D, something that belichick/parcells guys don't do. rac's previous success in the scheme doesn't entice me. i want an aggressive, attacking style.

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Guest Aloysius
Crennel has been a class act. From Insiders such as Dieken, Jim Donovan, Sam Rutiliano, Tony Grossi, etc .. they've stated that Romeo may have been the ONLY class act in the Berea complex.

According to Mike Florio, part of the reason Pioli may want Romeo to stick around is to point out which of those class-less individuals need to be canned.

 

Sounds like a good idea, but I'm not sure I'd be interested in having him come back as DC. Instead, perhaps we could charge him with fixing a specific problem area in our defense.

 

The Patriots brought in Dom Capers and gave him the title Special Assistant / Secondary. Maybe we can get RAC to become Special Assistant / Teach Wimbley a 2nd pass-rush move.

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First of all, thank God it's finally happened. Clean slate, start over, new hope. Yes, it's sad that's what we have to celebrate but it's better than the alternative of RAC's stodginess and Savage's inconsistency yet again.

 

If it's true RAC was the "only" class act of these jokers, then fine, let him stay on as an advisor but keep him away from the field. Give him a nice retiree type job, kind of like a younger version of Jim Brown for the team. Let him be Grandpa RAC to the kids but please, nothing more.

 

As for RAC letting it slip, I doubt he did that. He's pretty tight-lipped. I'd bet he was responding to a question like "what if Pioli is hired?" and thus the use of Pioli's name.

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Guest Masters
"I'd have to sit down and talk to Scott ...."

 

That tells me Romeo let the cat out of the bag that Pioli's hiring is a done deal and the interview tomorrow will be academic....then the official announcement tomorrow afternoon in Berea.

 

I think the specific question he was asked is missing more than RAC let the cat out of the bag about who the new GM is.

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"I'd have to sit down and talk to Scott ...."

 

That tells me Romeo let the cat out of the bag that Pioli's hiring is a done deal and the interview tomorrow will be academic....then the official announcement tomorrow afternoon in Berea.

 

Not quite- you have to remember the "Rooney Rule" Lerner\ Pioli at least have to make the pretense to bring in one minority interviewee to make it look good. The Bills DC would fill the bill.

 

Sounds more and more like Savage was the big problemo- but you can't totally absolve Crenell for some really lousy clock management, and horrendous gameday decisions.

 

Keeping RAC around as a Jim Brown Jr might be a good idea- nice big fat shoulder to cry on when things aren't going well.

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Guest 88fingerslewy
Not quite- you have to remember the "Rooney Rule" Lerner\ Pioli at least have to make the pretense to bring in one minority interviewee to make it look good. The Bills DC would fill the bill.

 

Sounds more and more like Savage was the big problemo- but you can't totally absolve Crenell for some really lousy clock management, and horrendous gameday decisions.

 

Keeping RAC around as a Jim Brown Jr might be a good idea- nice big fat shoulder to cry on when things aren't going well.

The Rooney Rule applies to Head Coaching positions. Not GM's or Director of Player Personnel.

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Not quite- you have to remember the "Rooney Rule" Lerner\ Pioli at least have to make the pretense to bring in one minority interviewee to make it look good. The Bills DC would fill the bill.

 

Sounds more and more like Savage was the big problemo- but you can't totally absolve Crenell for some really lousy clock management, and horrendous gameday decisions.

 

Keeping RAC around as a Jim Brown Jr might be a good idea- nice big fat shoulder to cry on when things aren't going well.

 

 

How many quarters of football did the Browns play without an offensive touchdown? How many games in a row were they shut out? I'm blaming Crennelephant and Savage equally, they both sucked.

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No thanks.

 

 

Imagine the problems in the locker room that would arise out of having the elephant still around.

Not really sure how keeping a guy around in a lesser role would really cause problems. I have heard plenty of players say they support Crennel. I haven't heard anyone come out and say that they dispise him. Sure, some were probably fed up with the way he was running the show on game days and what not, but he wouldnt be "the man" anymore. I really don't see a problem with him say coaching the D-line. Not that I'd be in favor of it, but I don't see how him being in a non decision making role would cause any problems. Its like if your boss got a demotion and was now someone elses less powerful boss on a different floor, would you really care?

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Could this just be a case of to much on one man, maybe HC was just to much for him.

 

The bottomline is crennels assistants sucked romeo couldnt bring in decent coaches/trainers/mentors himself and had to deal with what he was given and i cant believe those same douchebags are still at least temporarily employed lerner is a real jerk...

 

It just seems to me that if you have no confidence in your coaches hires and you dont trust the coaches evaluation skills you fire the coach not give him a staff that my local high school wouldnt hire..

 

Perhaps rac would be a good DC under pioli..

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Crennel has been a class act. From Insiders such as Dieken, Jim Donovan, Sam Rutiliano, Tony Grossi, etc .. they've stated that Romeo may have been the ONLY class act in the Berea complex.

 

We agree on that....................

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Crennel willing to stay if new coach agrees

ESPN.com news services

 

Updated: December 30, 2008, 10:37 AM ET

 

 

Browns Fire Romeo Crennel After Four SeasonsThe Romeo Crennel era in Cleveland -- with Crennel as head coach -- is over. But his coaching career with the Browns might extend beyond this season, under the right circumstances.

 

Crennel told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a phone interview Monday that he'd be willing to stay if the new coach wanted him on his staff.

 

"You don't want to get into a situation where somebody other than the head coach is hiring the coaches because now you've got a situation that might not work best," Crennel told the newspaper. "And for this organization to move forward, they need key people on the same page, going in the same direction."

 

Crennel went 24-40 in four seasons with the Browns, who entered 2008 with huge expectations but collapsed amid injuries to quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson; dropped passes by wide receiver Braylon Edwards; and uneven play on both sides of the ball. Cleveland didn't score an offensive touchdown as it lost its last six games.

 

crennel was a highly regarded defensive coordinator with New England before taking the Browns' head coaching job.

 

Browns owner Randy Lerner has been granted permission by New England to interview Scott Pioli, the Patriots' vice president of player personnel who helped assemble three Super Bowl winners as coach Bill Belichick's right-hand man, to replace Phil Savage, who was fired as the Browns' general manager Sunday.

 

The 43-year-old Pioli began his NFL career in Cleveland as a pro personnel assistant under Belichick in 1992. He has worked his way up and is now regarded as one of the league's premier front-office executives. Savage was seen similarly when the Browns hired him in 2005, but Lerner believes Pioli has a more expanded role than Savage did when he was Baltimore's director of player personnel.

 

Pioli is believed to be interested in the Browns job, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

 

If Pioli is hired, head coaching candidates are expected to be Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.

 

Crennel told the Plain Dealer that if Pioli were to take the Browns job, he would discuss staying on the Browns' staff.

 

"I'd have to sit down and talk to Scott about it, but moreso than Scott, I'd have to talk to the head coach," Crennel told the newspaper. "That would be the major factor."

 

 

Ok...I think i am the only one who feels Romeo really wants to be here..and obviosuly not just for the $...he gets that if he sits on his ass at home..

 

I think he realized HC was a bit much for him and feels this team is close and wants to be a part of this...maybe i am being a homer but i think the guy is a good ..proven DC and would do a good job just focusing on the D gameplan...also it seems Savage never got the players he wanted from other reports (he did not want bell...he wanted ty law etc..)

 

Be open minded..this could be a very good thing...

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I like Romeo as a person but I think its time for the franchise to move on unless you put him in a scouting position and maybe make him a Liason between fron office and players much in the capacity that Jim Brown has done in the past....

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Crennel has been a class act. From Insiders such as Dieken, Jim Donovan, Sam Rutiliano, Tony Grossi, etc .. they've stated that Romeo may have been the ONLY class act in the Berea complex.

 

I agree with you, Stan. Romeo is a class act and he has worked with and for quite a few coaches in his career.

 

When you think of it, why would he want to stay with the organization when he could simply take his money and run.

 

Why? Because he is genuinely a good person.

 

Maybe not Head Coach material. Maybe he is/was. In any event, nobody can say that he didn't give his all. His former players speak volumes for him.

 

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I dont have a problem with giving RAC another shot at DC or some other player personnel position. I am still holding on to my position that Savage as the GM had too much influence and control and we dont really know what RAC really could have done.

 

STating that he did make some mistakes during games on clock management and was not exactly the best motivating hC. He may be just really good at being a DC.

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Guest 88fingerslewy
was not exactly the best motivating hC.

The thing about his popularity is he treated the players like "Men" but some of them responded like "Boys." We'd like to hope that 7 figure salaries would 'Motivate" them but in todays world of prima donna's it seems it's the coach getting the blame.

 

Another popular coach of his players is Mike Smith of Atlanta. He treats them like men and they've responded. RAC could be a real asset in another capacity.

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I am going to be in the minority here...but I think keeping Romeo here may just be a brilliant idea.

 

Look at who we are trying to bring in:

GM - Pioli, New England

HC - McDaniels, New England

OC - ?

DC - ?

 

So, if we are already looking to bring in two more guys from New England, why not keep a guy we already have from NE. Pioli is going to know RAC. He is going to know the kind of players RAC wants. He is going to be able to work with him. RAC is also going to know OUR players better than anyone else. AND, he was a damn good DC in NE.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, young players have gotten tons of shots at contributing. If RAC had his hands in personnel decisions, it was going to be on defense (over offense)...so I think he is open to rookies there....

 

I am beginning to wonder if the play calling on offense...and lack of use of certain players on offense...was more Chud's doing than RAC. After all, it was those same players that struggled this year that put him on the map last year.

 

It also allows us to keep a certain amount of continuity even in the face of change....and the defensive players that seem to love him will be mollified to boot.

 

I say keeping RAC is a pretty good idea.

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He's proven his worthlessness as a HC.

He has also proven his worth as a DC.

Besides, can the defense get any worse ???? At least we'd have a guy that has some defensive experience.

Let's also not forget, as a Defense Coach (not necessarily coordinator) he has 5 Superbowl rings.

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