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Browns coach earns right to finish contract
Published on Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007
It's time to put something to rest with the Browns.
Coach Romeo Crennel deserves to finish the rest of his contract.
This should not be debated. The guy has earned his five years; he should be the team's coach through the 2009 season.
In one sense, this is not the most logical statement. Why decide to do something you never intended not to do in the first place?
To my knowledge, the possibility of not letting Crennel finish his contract has not been on the table. Not since the end of last season when team owner Randy Lerner and General Manager Phil Savage decided Crennel deserved another chance — in part because changing for the sake of change did not make sense.
Read another way, the Browns couldn't get Bill Cowher or Jeff Fisher, so they decided maintaining some sense of continuity was more important than starting over again.
It has played out to a 7-4 start and has the Browns in complete control of their playoff fate. The offense has rebounded, the defense has improved — though it still is making things work with baling wire — and the Browns are one of the feel-good stories of the league.
Whether it's good fortune, good luck or the result of many elements finally coming together does not matter. It's a bottom-line business, and Crennel has the Browns on a playoff path in his third season. He deserves Years 4 and 5 of his deal.
This is not to say things have been or are perfect.
Hiring offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon was a mistake. So was hanging
on to him as long as Crennel did (though there is something to be said for loyalty). Perhaps, too, it was the presence of Carthon that can explain why wide receiver Dennis Northcutt started for so long ahead of Joe Jurevicius.
This season, the preseason quarterback competition didn't exactly benefit anyone, and then the Browns and Crennel went with Charlie Frye in the opener.
That didn't go too well.
It also would be nice if Crennel didn't say things like a coach can only do so much when the game starts. Which he did say earlier this season — or something like that. Because if a coach can't do much when the game starts he probably ought to be up in the stands.
Then there was that two-timeouts-to-blow-a-replay moment in Pittsburgh. Not impressive.
But think about this: Herman Edwards of the Kansas City Chiefs had the same thing happen to him in the loss Sunday to the Oakland Raiders. How would you like to be the coach who made that mistake within weeks of another coach doing it?
Yes, Crennel is learning and growing.
And he would be a big enough man to probably concede that.
But that's the key: Crennel is learning, not regressing, and his team has improved, not gone backward.
They've gone from a team that could not win in the division to one that is 3-2 in the AFC North, with both losses coming against the team that is in first place in the division.
They've gone from a team that could not win at home to one that has won five in a row in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
They've gone from a team that could not win to one that can, a team that seemed to wait for something to go wrong to one that played a pretty complete game in beating the Houston Texans, a team that was so far south of .500 that New Zealand was out of sight to one that easily could win 10 games.
They've gone from a team without an offense to one that can score from anywhere. Yes, offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski has much to do with that, but a good head coach gets out of the way when he knows he has good assistants.
Strong work ethic
One of Crennel's hallmarks is his work ethic. As long as one of his assistants is in the facility in Berea, Crennel will be there as well. He stands by those he hires, and he works with them. He does not talk down to them.
He treats them like men, just like he treats his players like men. At times, this approach can be maddening. It was last season when receiver Braylon Edwards seemed to run wild at the end of the season.
But Edwards has responded this season.
So, too, has tight end Kellen Winslow, who started last season criticizing the offensive coaches. Winslow now just plays. Boy does he play. After games, he is humble, quiet, dedicated and respectful. This kind of thing does not happen by accident.
Crennel has defused potential problems with the team's two marquee talents and gotten them to focus on playing the game. The Browns are better for it.
Crennel seems to act with a quiet dignity. In the offseason when Savage was making decisions and leading the way on coaching staff changes, Crennel stepped back and decided the best thing he could do was keep the attention on trying to win.
He just kept working.
He has that same dignity with his players, and it's probably why there were many whispers after the disastrous opener that Crennel thought that he had stuck his neck out for the team and gotten little in return. Thankfully, the players met shortly after that loss and decided to do something about it.
The day he was hired, Crennel said he couldn't fully explain it, but his guys played for him. These Browns have done just that, and it's probably because they respect him.
For his entire tenure, Crennel had said that if his team kept working the way it was, then good things would follow. He was right.
Crennel is not rah-rah and he won't yell and scream on the sideline. He won't give any ''there's a gleam'' speeches, and thank goodness for that.
He's not perfect. But no coach is, no matter how much we want him to be. The Browns could be a playoff team this season, and they also could finish with a losing record. Doesn't matter which way things go.
They've improved, and Crennel deserves the chance to continue coaching them.
He was given a five-year contract for a reason: Because he needed time. The first two years were a lost cause because there was too much change. Now there is the chance to move ahead with stability.
Crennel will have two years to work with a ''full deck,'' as they say.
He deserves those years.
He has earned them.
Let's forget about the notion of getting rid of him.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.
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