Babb:Chiefs’ changes must start with Crennel’s actions and attitude

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs’ changes must start with Crennel’s actions and attitude
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
Romeo Crennel finally indicated this week that he has his defense figured out. His own defense, that is.

The Chiefs coach’s plan didn’t seem to have anything to do with what will happen Sunday in New Orleans or in any of the winless Chiefs’ remaining 14 games. No, Crennel began defending himself this week and deflecting blame for his team’s two embarrassing, blowout losses — and intimating that the fault lies not on coaches’ shoulders, but with the players.

“If they do their job the way they’re supposed to do it,” Crennel said, “then we’ll be able to make plays.”

Maybe that’s not what he meant. Maybe the words just got twisted, or came out wrong, or maybe we’re reading into them too deeply.

Crennel is 65 years old and has been an NFL coach since 1981. You don’t hang around that long or move up without being a good coach, and this isn’t meant to kick mud onto that fact. But being a head coach isn’t for everyone, and it tests all who dare by amplifying their words and shining a spotlight onto everything they say. No one knows yet if Crennel can prove, in his second stint as a head coach, that he can handle this job. But now that he’s in crisis mode, his words suggest he’s in over his head.

There’s time to change, but it starts with Crennel admitting that things actually need to change — starting with a more energetic and focused showing from himself. He doesn’t have the personality to consistently get in players’ faces, and he apparently has lost the public-speaking chops to adequately explain what needs to be done to curb this horrible start.

“I really thought that we would be better, and we’re not,” Crennel said after Buffalo’s 35-17 win on Sunday. “We’ve got to try to really figure out why that is.”

He also doesn’t seem to have the self-awareness necessary to identify an obvious weakness in the defense — and strip himself of coordinator duties and focus only on being the head coach. Coaches make this mistake all the time, and it almost always costs them.

“I’ve done both jobs before,” he said Monday before quickly clarifying. “I haven’t done both of them at the same time before. I’ve been a defensive line coach and a defensive coordinator before, so I’ve done dual roles in the past. I kind of understand what it takes.”

Crennel, who lost and was fired as Cleveland’s head coach even with a coordinator, had to have misspoken there. Surely he knows better than anyone that being a position coach is nothing like being a coordinator, and neither of those jobs is anything like being a head coach. So what if he worked with linemen on the same days he designed a defensive game plan? He never would’ve been asked in those jobs to also sit in on offensive and special-teams meetings, have daily news conferences, and appear in marketing material as the team’s face.

His job means he is asked, almost continually, to use his words to inspire players, win over reporters, articulate his needs to the personnel department and his vision to assistant coaches, and keep a community of battered fans from staying home on the seven remaining Sundays that Arrowhead Stadium is supposed to be full.

Instead, he says things like this about the upcoming contest against the 0-2 Saints:

“I know we will try to look at it as a must-win because we want to win it,” he said, “but we’re not going to fall off the earth if we lose it.”

Nothing is quite as stirring as a coach whose words suggest he’s OK with the idea of losing his first three games of 2012.

The issue is that Crennel will have to use his voice, now more than ever, to rally so many people who have turned to him for guidance, comfort and confidence. Losing is certainly no fun, particularly when there are so many problems that Crennel is being asked to fix. It’ll change your outlook and your attitude. But nothing encourages hope or leads to change when he sulks through a news conference or looks downtrodden on the sideline — in the first two or three weeks of the season.

Difficult as it might be, he has to fight this with all he’s got. With three games remaining in the 2011 season, Crennel took over a 5-8 team after Todd Haley was fired. In his first news conference as interim coach, he stated in clear terms that quarterback Tyler Palko was out, Kyle Orton was in, and the days of misdirection from Haley were finished. Crennel on that day was the leader the Chiefs needed. No more confusion, no more nonsense.

“We’re changing some things,” he said on Dec. 14.

Crennel took charge of a team in shambles and won two of the Chiefs’ final three games, the first one against the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers. They dumped Gatorade on Crennel after that game, and the future seemed in good hands.

Crennel was comfortable in his skin back then, and even since training camp ended, that seems to have changed. Haley spent an offseason studying old news conferences of Bill Parcells, trying to pattern his answers and behavior after the master. He learned too late to be himself, but at least he learned it. Crennel seems to be going in reverse; once unafraid of how his words might sound to Big Brother watching in the general manager’s office, now he hesitates when Star beat writer Adam Teicher asks him things like whether his team was going for it on a fourth down in Buffalo.

“You saw the play,” the coach said flatly.

Regardless of the reasons, a Crennel who sounds defeated, or resigned, is bad for the Chiefs and bad for a wounded Kansas City. If it appears he has stopped believing, or if he has so little energy or confidence that he can’t explain what he expects and wants, then who would trust that he can say the right things to motivate players to pull out of this funk anytime soon?

So often, a team takes on the personality of its head coach. This team has, for two games, seemed to do that. Crennel lacks liveliness and answers, and so do the Chiefs.

Luckily for the coach and everyone who plays for or follows this team, there’s plenty of time left for Crennel to rediscover himself — and what made the Chiefs so good for two of three weeks last December.

[Ace Gunner]

Originally Posted by Micjones

That only explains the verbiage. It doesn't explain the body language.
Or his attitude. Which are both telling.

I don't buy that he's towing company lines.
Not with respect to what he's been saying at recent press conferences.

when a man who is not the CMFWIC says he isn't worried about losing records, he may as well be the CMFWIC. That is called job security and it can only come from towing the company line.

[King_Chief_Fan]

Chief King_Chief_Fan: Chiefs' changes must start without Crennel

[FAX]

Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

FAX - I wasn't actually responding to you...someone else up the thread. However, your point is taken. I was mainly referring to written pieces from the Star...commentary, mainly. You have me at a disadvantage when it comes to the pressers, because I rarely get to watch them.

No problem. Sorry if I jumped in there for no good reason. I often get confused and post wildly without knowing what the hell I'm doing. It's a style I began to refine back in the day when I was a mere N00b (sp?) and forced by the Planeteer veterans to post only on subjects relating to leafy, green vegetables. I plan on taking classes on advanced posting from Mr. Baby Lee, though, so I should see some improvement soon.

As for the pressers, I just dial them up on the internet thing over there at the Chiefs homepage. I particularly like the ones where they cut off the presser when the going begins to get (what they view as) "rough". It's not uncommon for them to bail on the tape early ... especially when Haley was at the mic. You were often treated to a full 6 minutes of a 20 minute conference. Of course, it just wouldn't do for too much information to be shared in public.

FAX

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by FAX

You clearly have a handle on the situation, Mr. NJChiefsFan. This post is correct in all respects. I don't know why I continue to dial up the HC press conferences knowing he'll just feed pap to the masses. I suppose I'm hoping to glean some insight.

Right now, though, I'd have to rank Crennel's pressers below Haley's, Gunther's, ... heck, even Herm's. He says stuff like, "We lost the football game because in the NFL, if you don't win the football game, you lose the football game." It's astonishing, really.

I know an African Gray that can convey more information in 30 minutes.

FAX

I agree Mr. Fax and think it is due to getting his wings clipped by Pioli last year.

RAC was pretty honest at his very first press conference, and even hinted that he was aware Matt Cassel sucked. It gave us hope.

It was the press conference where he made the Palko announcement referred to in this article.
We were all so surprised and happy about the honesty and clarity from the HC, but that was soon over.

It was obvious to me that Pioli had called him on the carpet and told him not to divulge anything, and I don't think RAC is very good at talking in circles without sounding stupid like this.

[boogblaster]

uncle romeo .. wasn't what this team needed at HC .. young players need a fire-breather that chews off half their asses till they get it .. and starting a dud at QB doesn't help .....

[KChiefs_Fan94]

Use Twitter hashtag, #getridofcassel

[dallaschiefsfan]

Originally Posted by boogblaster

uncle romeo .. wasn't what this team needed at HC .. young players need a fire-breather that chews off half their asses till they get it .. and starting a dud at QB doesn't help .....

Other front offices seem to understand this...not sure why we're so stupid. In addition to this being a QB league, it seems the NFL is becoming more and more a young coach's league as well. Existing older dudes with success are the exception, of course (Coughlin, Bilechik, etc)

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

[B][SIZE="5"]
He also doesn’t seem to have the self-awareness necessary to identify an obvious weakness in the defense — and strip himself of coordinator duties and focus only on being the head coach. Coaches make this mistake all the time, and it almost always costs them.

“I’ve done both jobs before,” he said Monday before quickly clarifying. “I haven’t done both of them at the same time before. I’ve been a defensive line coach and a defensive coordinator before, so I’ve done dual roles in the past. I kind of understand what it takes.”

This guy is to dumb to realize that there is a HUGE difference between being the Defensive Line Coach/DC and being the HC/DC.

[Black Bob]

RAC has screwed up. That 2-3-6 defense is his biggest problem. He wanted to run it alot last season but Berry got hurt. After that, he didn't have the safeties to do it. He ran it a little bit but not all the time. Now that Berry's back, we are running it too much. There is confusion with assignments. By instituting this defense, Romeo is making his job twice as hard. He's basically a HC and a DC with a new defense just like Haley in 2009 imo. He needs to scrap the 2-3-6 and get back to the 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 Nickel packages. If he doesn't, it will cost him his job imo.

Also, there was another article this morning about how different Romeo is behind closed doors. I talked about a couple of days ago but apparently his ass chewings used to make Haley look like a mouse. He went off at halftime against Indy last year. Gibbs, the linebacker coach, also talks about how he's different behind closed doors.

I like Romeo and will support him if he changes fast.

[FAX]

That's all well and good, Mr. BlackBob, but iyo, what do you think of the 2-3-6 defense ... iyo?

FAX

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by BlackBob

I like Romeo and will support him if he changes fast.

He's 64-years old. He's not going to change.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by BlackBob

RAC has screwed up. That 2-3-6 defense is his biggest problem.

I agree.

Teams are running right at us when they go to that defensive set.

The team needs to spend more time in its base set and less time trying to do this cute shit, because Poe and Ropati aren't good enough to be the only down linemen. They're getting moved out of their gaps and gashed.

The Defense looks much better in its base set.

[bevischief]

I don't care at this point what defense they play but whatever he is playing the players don't seem to get it. Fix and fix it soon.

[TEX]

Crennel is like Wade Phillips - Makes a better DC than a HC - only not as good as Phillips.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by bevischief

I don't care at this point what defense they play but whatever he is playing the players don't seem to get it. Fix and fix it soon.

How much "fixing" is actually necessary? Or possible?

That's the question that's plaguing me at the moment (actually, that's two questions, but I sort of glom them together in my brainpan like eggs over easy when the whites sort of join up into a double egg like strange, unblinking, slimy, yellow eyes looking at you from the stove).

I mean, we look way far away from being "right". I don't see how it's possible (given the last 5 outings) to suddenly become the top 10 defense a lot of people expected. I'm afraid it's going to be a process.

FAX