Romeo turning over a new leaf?

[O.city]

Didn't see this posted and didn't wanna look thru any threads.

Romeo Crennel is good for the Chiefs — if Scott Pioli changes his ways
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star
Updated: 2012-01-10T09:11:32Z
More News
It’s official: Crennel is Chiefs’ new coach Romeo Crennel is good for the Chiefs — if Scott Pioli changes his ways Chiefs sign practice squad player Chiefs turn to Crennel’s experience Crennel seemed to be players’ choice Poll: Is Crennel the right call as the Chiefs' head coach?

This is the right man at the right time, as much as that can be said at the moment, but the more important reaction to his being announced as the Chiefs’ permanent head coach can be summarized in one word:
Enough.
As in, enough with the former Patriots. Enough getting the band back together. Three years after taking over, general manager Scott Pioli has made this organization a fuzzy copy of what he saw in New England, and the only reason it’s still floating along with potential is that he’s signed the most talented players he inherited.
Pioli is a smart football man, and in the most important ways, the narrative about him being a wild egomaniac is misguided. In certain ways, sure. But when it comes to personnel decisions and the thought process behind them, Pioli is hampered more by insecurity than ego.
Faced with a decision, Pioli almost always goes with the safe choice, the familiar choice, and that’s the part that needs to stop.
Now more than ever, Pioli must be bold. Leave his comfort zone. Make the Chiefs his own. That means taking chances, stretching his own boundaries and making sure his line during Monday’s news conference about being held accountable by Crennel is more than a forgotten sound bite.
Put simply: Pioli made the right decision with Crennel, but only if the Chiefs understand that nearly all of the remaining fixes for a franchise that essentially just lost a year of development must be found outside the building.
This will work, but only if Pioli decides that he must make key corrections in how he’s operated so far and tries to create something new here rather than clone past glory.
• • •
Romeo Crennel is a players’ coach. You hear that term a lot, even if people aren’t sure exactly what it means, but everyone seems sure that Crennel is a players’ coach. The players on this team love him, you know, and many openly campaigned for him to get the job.
Tamba Hali says Crennel is the kind of man players want to please. Dexter McCluster says Crennel has a unique way of motivating millionaire athletes to give that extra effort. Le’Ron McClain said Crennel has the “overwhelming” support of the most important players, and if you take any of this to mean Crennel is a pushover, there is an instructive story you might want to hear.
The setting was a team meeting a few weeks ago, after Crennel was appointed interim coach. He stood before his players as their tenuous leader, nobody quite certain how he would use the power … and he dogged Thomas Jones.
In front of the entire team.
Understand that as much as Todd Haley earned his reputation as a disciplinarian — fat camp, cuss words, we-only-talk-about-the-players-who-are-here — players grew to think that some guys were off-limits.
This was a special status. Matt Cassel made it as the quarterback. Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali worked themselves into it. Casey Wiegmann earned it based on his long career, and so did Jones.
So this group of players had never seen Jones called out by the head coach. Certainly not for everyone to see, and as they scooted up in their chairs and pushed their heads forward to get a better look, you know what happened next?
Jones took it.
He nodded.
Listened carefully.
Maybe even smiled a bit, because deep down, he sort of liked it. Enough of his teammates did, too, and over two offseasons and 29 games as defensive coordinator and three games as interim head coach, the Chiefs saw so many of the characteristics they want to embody in Crennel.
Consistency. Dependability. Intellect. Energy.
He is the right man, and in the right place. It would just help if he came from some other place, because then we could be more confident about the other necessary changes being made.
• • •
The easy thing is to trash this hire. The Chiefs need to get better, need to get inspiring, and hiring from within doesn’t normally accomplish either.
Thirteen years ago, the Chiefs promoted their defensive coordinator in large part because the players loved him and then went through two entirely gray seasons most remembered as “Gunther Cunningham.”
What’s easy to miss is that part of what makes Crennel a good fit here is that, just as he won’t hesitate to call out an organizational prince like Jones, he isn’t afraid to stand up to Pioli.
Crennel is 18 years older than Pioli, strikingly comfortable in his own skin and secure in his own accomplishments. He calls his boss Scott, and the first thing he did upon taking over was switch quarterbacks. The second thing was to tell Scott that he switched quarterbacks.
That’s how this thing has to work. Because these two men are inseparably tied together now. One can’t fail without the other one going down. Pioli will hold his head coach accountable, sure, but he has to mean it when he says the opposite will be true, too.
Crennel’s fortitude will be an important tool for the Chiefs, because so far Pioli’s effectiveness has been limited by his own reluctance. Being thorough and measured and certain are all good things, but so is making a decision.
For example, if Crennel thinks the Chiefs will be better off upgrading at quarterback through the draft or free agency, he is better equipped to make the case than Todd Haley was. And if Pioli is more committed to the Chiefs’ success than his own image, he’ll listen hard and be more aggressive than we’ve seen so far.
In other words, Crennel is the right man at the right time. But that doesn’t matter nearly as much as Pioli making good on his vow to do his own job better.
For that to happen, doing it “better” will have to mean doing it “different.”


Posted on Mon, Jan. 09, 2012 11:44 PM

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/09...#storylink=cpy


Sorry for the format.

[Titty Meat]

Nope

[O.city]

He called out Jones.

Thats somewhat impressive. Also says Haley had his favorites which is not surprise.

[RealSNR]

Bring back Tribal Warfare to post these threads. It's not hard to clean up the format, douche.

[O.city]

Sorry, I'm in class didn't have time.


One of the MODS can delete this thread.

[talastan]

I agree that Pioli needs to step away from the Patriots part deux. As to whether Crennel will be able to convince him to do that, or stand up to him I don't know that I have faith in that yet. Show me an improvement in the QB situation and I'll change my mind.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by talastan

Show me an improvement in the QB situation

Paging L.A.Chieffan!

[Extra Point]

D is set. Let's get an O that can score TDs, and keep people from bitching about our kicker.

[Molitoth]

I SO wish I could hear Todd Haley's opinion on his stint here with Scott.

[DeezNutz]

Maybe. I could see Romeo having a better go of it his second time around as a HC, and I agree that his past carries far more clout than Haley's could even dream of.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

I SO wish I could hear Todd Haley's opinion on his stint here with Scott.

Why? Pioli certainly must take a lot of blame for the organization's failings, but Haley was promoted beyond his ability level, and I don't care what piss-poor HCs think about anything.

[Gonzo]

You have to wonder if things went differently and Weis was still here, would Scott have still selected Crennel?
Posted via Mobile Device

[DaKCMan AP]

I'm not sure Romeo could fit inside a leaf, but he could probably tip (turn) one over.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Maybe. I could see Romeo having a better go of it his second time around as a HC, and I agree that his past carries far more clout than Haley's could even dream of.

Even if Jim Zorn is the OC?

[lcarus]

Romeo is a great defensive coach. If he keeps some control of the defense and we get an offensive guy in here, this could be a great hire.