In big win, Chiefs find a leader in Romeo Crennel

[Hammock Parties]

This is dangerous. Chiefs players are lobbying openly for Crennel to get the job.

64-year old interim head coaches don't win shit in this league.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/18...-a-leader.html

Rookie linebacker Justin Houston grabbed an orange bucket of blue Gatorade and followed a pack of co-conspirators to drench the Chiefs’ new head coach. Romeo Crennel took it, smiled and clapped.

Running back Le’Ron McClain strutted toward Arrowhead Stadium’s west end zone, dropped his helmet around the 25-yard line, and joined five or six teammates in high-fiving and hugging delirious fans.

Crennel missed it. By this time, he was making his way off the field, wiping away tears.

The Chiefs stunned the football world by beating the previously undefeated Packers 19-14 on Sunday, the most shocking outcome in the NFL this season and in Kansas City for longer than that, one that we all might look back on in a few years as the day the franchise’s direction changed.

Three critical developments, in ascending order of importance, emerged from Sunday’s improbable upset: The Chiefs maintained a sliver of playoff hope, reminded a city that football can be fun and almost certainly found their new head coach.

“We treated this as our Super Bowl,” running back Dexter McCluster said. “This was our Super Bowl. You could feel that positive energy.”

What the Chiefs accomplished on Sunday is now the talk of the league. The Packers are still the prohibitive Super Bowl favorites, owners of the second-longest winning streak in NFL history, the model franchise for 31 others trying to build sustainable and long-term success. They’d won 19 straight and came in averaging nearly 36 points per game.

Juxtapose that with an organization in disarray. The Chiefs hadn’t scored more than 10 points since October and have lost five times by 27 points or more — one away from the most since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970.

This last week started with head coach Todd Haley being fired. Kyle Orton, cut by the Broncos a month ago, became the Chiefs’ third starting quarterback of the season. Injuries continue to expose an inexcusable lack of depth.

Nobody wondered whether the Packers would beat the Chiefs as much as they wondered just how badly the Packers would beat the Chiefs.

Then a funny, fun and completely unpredictable thing happened: The Chiefs led for all but 4 minutes, held the Packers to their fewest points and yards since last season, shut down Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers and beat the defending world champions.

It can’t be as simple as Tyler Palko sitting, and the plainly capable Orton playing, can it?

Because even before this, Crennel figured to drop the “interim” from his new title as head coach after Haley’s firing.

But now, after the team’s most inspired effort of the season, the Chiefs almost surely have their man. The locker room is rooting for Crennel to get the permanent job — actually, some Chiefs players are openly lobbying for it.

“Everything was different,” McClain said of the past week. “More meeting time. More football time. Learning your opponent better, understanding your opponent. I know I watched more film this week than I watched all year. Everything was different, man. Good different.”

Especially after Haley openly admitted the Jets were better prepared than the Chiefs last weekend. What you hear from players now is both an indictment of the past and endorsement of the future with Crennel.

McCluster: “I know everybody in this locker room will fight for him.”

Receiver Terrance Copper: “He doesn’t give us a reason not to play hard for him.”

Running back Thomas Jones: “He’d be a great choice for us.”

Receiver Steve Breaston, a noted Haley supporter, even referred to Crennel’s nickname after the game on Twitter: “Yeah by the way … Rac City!!!!”

The descriptions of Crennel are a general sketch of what owner Clark Hunt and general manager Scott Pioli say they want in a head coach.

Crennel treats everyone with respect. He is obsessed with details, with fundamentals, with the kind of preparation that means the Chiefs know their opponents better than the other way around.

Crennel makes his own decisions (Orton found out he was starting Sunday’s game before Pioli did) without being insubordinate. He gives credit to his players first, his assistants second and himself never.

“I was just standing on the sideline,” he said. “That’s all I did today. They got it done.”

The parallels are too many to ignore. Crennel is consistent. He is dedicated. You will never see him take the kind of unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that Haley drew in his last game.

Crennel went 24-40 over four seasons in Cleveland, but you know that Bill Belichick was also fired by the Browns before taking over the Patriots.

Pioli believes in guys he’s worked with, guys who’ve been in his system before. He believes that smart and motivated people get better with experience and can learn from mistakes.

In other words, Crennel fits.

The immediate impact of the Chiefs winning his first game in charge is kind of fun and mostly obvious. Green Bay’s perfect season is over. The Chiefs can still claim a mathematical shot at the playoffs.

A fan base is truly encouraged for the first time since that Monday night win over the Chargers, when the Chiefs improved to 4-3 and receiver Dwayne Bowe spray-painted his shoes and a dozen or so teammates put on “Scream” masks to celebrate on Halloween.

But it’s the other stuff that is more important, the other stuff that the players seem to know gives this a chance to be more than a temporary reprieve like their win in Chicago two weeks ago.

The feeling is entirely different this time. Some of that is Orton, who ran the offense well enough to knock off an opponent that hadn’t lost in more than a year.

The bigger part is Crennel, and a genuine vibe in the locker room that this team has found the right coach to make a still-promising future become reality.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Omega

Terrible odds. Enough for me to pass on Romeo.

So, 30 coaches have won a superbowl in NFL history out of how many? What are the odds there, Clay?

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

Well said. Not that I should get on people for not giving in during an arguement.

I don't have a problem with somebody sticking to their guns but when their guns are on the ocean floor, then maybe its time to let those guns sink alone. I'm about 50% convinced he's trolling me though. I don't think he's brilliant but there's no way he's this dense.

[Hammock Parties]

FYI, there's no agenda. I'm legitimately terrified of Romeo as our next head coach. Worst case scenario, he actually wins a few games with the talent we have in place, McDaniels is the OC, Romeo retires in 3-4 years and McDaniels becomes the new HC.

Scares the shit out of me.

[johnny961]

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

Maybe most lose their drive at a certain age. Romeo obviously hasn't.

This. Most probably lose any drive to coach as they get older. But as long as a candidate is capable of physically doing the job and has the drive I really don't see where age makes a hell of alot of difference.

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

So, 30 coaches have won a superbowl in NFL history out of how many? What are the odds there, Clay?

Roughly... you have 44 SuperBowls. 33 superbowl winners so 11 winners are multiples like Noll, Landry, Walsh, and BB. Guessing there are a comparable number of multiple losers like Levy. So figure 66-70 total SuperBowl coaches.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Roughly... you have 44 SuperBowls. 33 superbowl winners so 11 winners are multiples like Noll, Landry, Walsh, and BB. Guessing there are a comparable number of multiple losers like Levy. So figure 66-70 total SuperBowl coaches.

So, take that 33 out of the 448 head coaches who have ever coached in the nfl, and you come out with a worse percentage than Clay's 3/27 ratio.

Originally Posted by Omega

FYI, there's no agenda. I'm legitimately terrified of Romeo as our next head coach. Worst case scenario, he actually wins a few games with the talent we have in place, McDaniels is the OC, Romeo retires in 3-4 years and McDaniels becomes the new HC.

Scares the shit out of me.

I don't think you've come to realize that the NFL is about talent, execution, and a whole lot of luck. We could bring Belechick to KC tomorrow and not win a SuperBowl. Sometimes good coaches fail. Sometimes bad coaches get very lucky. It doesn't have jack to do with age, hair-style, color, pedigree, or even coaching tree.

Now, I'm not downplaying the role of head coach because we all know about having morons wearing that hat. But the head coach isn't going to be the sole catalyst for taking the Chiefs to the promised land.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Roughly... you have 44 SuperBowls. 33 superbowl winners so 11 winners are multiples like Noll, Landry, Walsh, and BB. Guessing there are a comparable number of multiple losers like Levy. So figure 66-70 total SuperBowl coaches.

Close.. 28 coaches have won a superbowl, an additional 20 have gone but never won.

I may be off by 1 or 2 on the 20 figure, but it's close.

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

So, take that 33 out of the 448 head coaches who have ever coached in the nfl, and you come out with a worse percentage than Clay's 3/27 ratio.

Preaching the choir. He's not interested in logic here.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Phobia

I don't think you've come to realize that the NFL is about talent, execution, and a whole lot of luck.

It would seem coaches over 63 aren't lucky.

Originally Posted by Omega

It would seem coaches over 63 aren't lucky.

Because Marv Levy's age made Scott Norwood miss that kick. He just couldn't put it through the uprights because of his ancient coach.

[|Zach|]

I would be fine with it.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Because Marv Levy's age made Scott Norwood miss that kick. He just couldn't put it through the uprights because of his ancient coach.

Even if Norwood makes it, you're still only looking at 4 coaches in 40+ years.

I'm sure the stars will align for our franchise in the next four years under Romeo, though.

Originally Posted by Omega

Even if Norwood makes it, you're still only looking at 4 coaches in 40+ years.

I'm sure the stars will align for our franchise in the next four years under Romeo, though.

Okay, let's play it your way then. Since your probability stick goes both ways then the Chiefs franchise has won one out of 44 SuperBowls. Wouldn't that mean, using your logic, that any coach KC hired would be unable to win a SuperBowl? I mean, since you're using statistics and history to determine the age window of our next head coach? I'd like to figure out your exact algorithm... What should be the ideal age, Clay?

Have there been any red-headed SuperBowl winning coaches? We need to figure these important factors out in advance before we submit our approved candidate list to Clark.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Phobia

the Chiefs franchise has won one out of 44 SuperBowls. Wouldn't that mean, using your logic, that any coach KC hired would be unable to win a SuperBowl?

No. Because each Chiefs team is different, with it's own set of independent variables.

For instance, one of those variables - we keep hiring shitty head coaches. We have now had 5 head coaches in 13 years. So we should definitely seek to continue this trend with another short-term hire.