| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 18, 1947 |
| Place of birth | Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Alma mater | Western Kentucky |
| Career highlights | |
| Awards | 2003 PFW Assistant COY |
| Head coaching record | |
| Career record | 28-55-0 |
| Stats | |
| Coaching stats | Pro Football Reference |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1970-1974 1975-1977 1978-1979 1980 1981-1992 1993-1996 1997-1999 2000 2001-2004 2005-2008 2010-2012 2013- |
Western Kentucky (Defensive Line Coach) Texas Tech (Defensive Assistant) Ole Miss (Defensive Ends Coach) Georgia Tech (Defensive Line Coach) New York Giants (1981-1989) (Special Teams Coach) (1990-1992) (Defensive Line Coach) New England Patriots (Defensive Line Coach) New York Jets (Defensive Line Coach) Cleveland Browns (Defensive Coordinator) New England Patriots (Defensive Coordinator) Cleveland Browns (Head Coach) Kansas City Chiefs (2010-2012) (Defensive Coordinator) (2011) (Interim Head Coach) (2012) (Head Coach) |
Romeo "Rac" Crennel (born June 18, 1947) has served at several levels of coaching in American football.
Contents |
Playing career [edit]
Crennel played baseball and football at Fort Knox (Ky.) High School and Central (Va.) High School before committing to college football at Western Kentucky. Although he was a four-year starter as a defensive lineman, he became an offensive lineman during his senior season at the request of the coaching staff. He was named the team's MVP after the switch but was not drafted and never played in the NFL. While the move did hinder his draft chances, it increased his knowledge of the game, by experiencing the trenches from both the offensive and defensive side of the football. Crennel earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Western Kentucky University, and then a master’s degree while serving as a graduate assistant for the school in 1970.
Coaching career [edit]
College [edit]
Western Kentucky University [edit]
After one season as a graduate assistant with Western Kentucky (1970), Crennel served as the defensive line coach for three seasons (1971–1974).
Texas Tech [edit]
After four seasons at WKU, he became an assistant for defensive coordinator Bill Parcells and head coach Steve Sloan at Texas Tech for three seasons (1975–1977).
Ole Miss and Georgia Tech [edit]
Crennel finished his collegiate career with two seasons as the defensive ends coach for Ole Miss (1978–1979) and one season as the defensive line coach for Georgia Tech (1980).
National Football League [edit]
Assistant coach [edit]
New York Giants [edit]
After spending two seasons as an assistant with the New York Giants, Crennel became the special teams coach for seven seasons (1983–1989) and the defensive line coach for three seasons (1990–1992). In 1983, he was reunited with Parcells as the head coach.
When Parcells stepped down as Giants head coach after Super Bowl XXV, Crennel stayed with the team under the two-year tenure of Ray Handley.
New England Patriots and New York Jets [edit]
Crennel left the Giants after the 1992 season and worked as the defensive line coach for the New England Patriots for four seasons (1993–1996) and for the New York Jets for three seasons (1997–1999) during the time that Parcells was the head coach in each franchise.
Cleveland Browns [edit]
Crennel was hired as the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator for the 2000 season.
Back to New England [edit]
After one season in Cleveland, he filled the same role with the Patriots for four seasons (2001–2004) under long-time friend Bill Belichick; helping lead New England to 3 Super Bowl victories: (2001, 2003, & 2004).
Kansas City Chiefs [edit]
On January 13, 2010, Crennel was hired as the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator, reuniting him with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and General Manager Scott Pioli from their days with the Patriots.[1]
Post-Kansas City [edit]
In January 2013, Crennel's name surfaced to become the new defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams.[2]
Head coach [edit]
Before beginning the 2003 playoffs with the Patriots, Crennel interviewed for head coaching positions with six teams in under 36 hours. He was not offered any jobs, however, and was passed up by the New York Giants, the Buffalo Bills, the Arizona Cardinals, the Chicago Bears, and the Atlanta Falcons.[3]
Cleveland Browns [edit]
Crennel went 6-10 and 4-12 in his first two seasons with the Browns, finishing last or tied for last in the AFC North and missing the playoffs each year. The Browns finished the 2007 season with a 10-6 record, just falling short of making the playoffs. Crennel's success in the 2007 season earned him a two-year contract extension in January 2008.[4]
On December 29, 2008, following a disappointing 4-12 season, Crennel was fired by the Browns.[5]
Kansas City Chiefs [edit]
Following Todd Haley's termination as the team's head coach after 13 games in the 2011 season, Crennel was named the team's interim head coach for the remaining 3 games of the season.[6] Crennel won his first game as the interim head coach of the Chiefs on December 18, 2011 against the then undefeated Green Bay Packers 19-14, which was significant as Crennel snapped the Packers' 19-game winning streak and ended their hopes for a perfect season.[7] Crennel finished his stint as interim head coach with a 2-1 record.
On January 9, 2012 Crennel was named the Chiefs' permanent head coach.[8] Three days later, Crennel announced his intent to remain as defensive coordinator during his tenure as head coach.[9]
On November 5, 2012, Crennel announced he would be stepping down as defensive coordinator and named linebackers coach Gary Gibbs to the vacant position, after an 1–7 start to the season.[10]
On December 1, 2012, Crennel attempted to prevent the suicide of player Jovan Belcher by talking to him and witnessed his death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.[11][12] The following day, Crennel coached his team to a 27-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers, the Chiefs' first home victory since defeating the Packers the previous season, and the only other home win during his tenure.[13]
On December 31, 2012, it was announced that Crennel had been fired from the Chiefs.[14]
Head coaching record [edit]
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | |||
| CLE | 2005 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3rd in AFC North | - | - | - | - | |
| CLE | 2006 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 4th in AFC North | - | - | - | - | |
| CLE | 2007 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in AFC North | - | - | - | - | |
| CLE | 2008 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 4th in AFC North | - | - | - | - | |
| CLE Total | 24 | 40 | 0 | .375 | - | - | - | ||||
| KC | 2011 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 4th in AFC West | - | - | - | - | |
| KC | 2012 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 4th in AFC West | - | - | - | - | |
| KC Total | 4 | 15 | 0 | .211 | - | - | - | ||||
| Total[15] | 28 | 55 | 0 | .337 | - | - | - | ||||
- Crennel served as the Chiefs head coach on an interim basis for the final 3 games of the 2011 season.
Coaching tree [edit]
NFL head coaches under whom Romeo Crennel has served:
- Ray Perkins: New York Giants
- Bill Parcells: New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets
- Ray Handley: New York Giants
- Chris Palmer: Cleveland Browns
- Bill Belichick: New England Patriots
- Todd Haley: Kansas City Chiefs
Personal [edit]
Crennel's younger brother Carl Crennel played one season in the NFL and several seasons in the Canadian Football League.
Crennel had hip replacement surgery in early 2009 and decided to sit-out the 2009 football season while recuperating. [16]
On the morning of December 1, 2012, he reportedly witnessed Chiefs player Jovan Belcher commit suicide at Arrowhead Stadium.[17][18]
References [edit]
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4821761
- ^ http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/would-ryan-be-a-fit-with-rams/article_34726914-e741-532b-8e16-774957a81a12.html
- ^ African American Biographies
- ^ "Cleveland Browns confirm contract extension for Crennel" The Cleveland Plain Dealer
- ^ http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3797654
- ^ "Romeo Crennel will coach Chiefs for remainder of season". KCChiefs.com.
- ^ Federovitch, Barry (December 19, 2011). "Romeo Crennel has day in the sun". nj.com. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Chiefs to Name Romeo Crennel Head Coach". KCChiefs.com.
- ^ "Romeo Crennel plans to retain defensive play-calling duties as head coach in 2012". KCChiefs.com.
- ^ "Romeo Crennel names Gary Gibbs D coordinator". KCChiefs.com.
- ^ http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1740801?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CDetroit%20Lions%7Cs
- ^ http://www.freep.com/article/20121202/SPORTS01/312020306/NFL-player-kills-his-girlfriend-then-self?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CNEWS06
- ^ [1]
- ^ Hill, Josh (December 31, 2012). "Report: Kansas City Chiefs Fire Romeo Crennel, But Keep Scott Pioli". FanSided.Com Sports Network. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ Romeo Crennel Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com
- ^ "Former Cleveland Browns coach Crennel to sit out 2009" May 4 2009 The Cleveland Plain Dealer
- ^ Staff writer (2012-12-01). "Report: Chiefs player kills girlfriend, then commits suicide". USA Today.
- ^ Don Banks (1 December 2012). "Chiefs player involved in apparent murder-suicide at team facility". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
External links [edit]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bob Slowik |
Cleveland Browns Defensive Coordinator 2000 |
Succeeded by Foge Fazio |
| Preceded by Steve Sidwell |
New England Patriots Defensive Coordinator 2001–2004 |
Succeeded by Eric Mangini |
| Preceded by Clancy Pendergast |
Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Coordinator 2010–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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