Romeo Crennel facts for kids
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Crennel in 2005
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | June 18, 1947 Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Fort Knox (KY) |
| College: | Western Kentucky |
| Undrafted: | 1970 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 32–63 (.337) |
| Coaching stats at PFR | |
Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947) is a former American football coach. He spent over 50 years coaching football teams. He worked with six NFL teams and four college teams.
Crennel was a head coach for the Cleveland Browns (2005–2008) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2012). He also served as an assistant coach for many years. He won five Super Bowl championships as an assistant coach. Two of these wins were with the New York Giants and three with the New England Patriots.
From 2014 to 2021, Crennel was an assistant coach for the Houston Texans. In 2020, he became the team's interim head coach. At 73 years old, he became the oldest head coach in NFL history. He was also the first Black head coach for the Texans.
Playing Football
Romeo Crennel played both baseball and football in high school. He went on to play college football at Western Kentucky University. He started for four years as a defensive lineman. In his senior year, he switched to offensive lineman. This change helped him learn more about the game. He became the team's most valuable player that year.
Crennel earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. He then got a master's degree while working as a graduate assistant coach in 1970. He never played in the NFL.
Coaching Career Highlights
Starting at Western Kentucky
Crennel began his coaching career at Western Kentucky University. He was a graduate assistant for one season (1970). Then, he coached the defensive line for three more seasons (1971–1974).
Moving to Other Colleges
After Western Kentucky, Crennel coached at Texas Tech for three seasons (1975–1977). He worked as a defensive assistant there. He then coached defensive ends for Ole Miss (1978–1979). His college coaching career ended after one season at Georgia Tech (1980). There, he coached the defensive line.
New York Giants Years
Crennel joined the New York Giants in 1981. He became the special teams coach for seven seasons (1983–1989). Later, he coached the defensive line for three seasons (1990–1992). During this time, he worked with head coach Bill Parcells.
New England Patriots and New York Jets
After leaving the Giants in 1992, Crennel coached the defensive line for the New England Patriots. He stayed there for four seasons (1993–1996). He then moved to the New York Jets for three seasons (1997–1999). He worked with Bill Parcells again at both of these teams.
First Time with the Cleveland Browns
In 2000, Crennel became the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
Return to New England Patriots
After one season with the Browns, Crennel went back to the Patriots. He was their defensive coordinator for four seasons (2001–2004). He worked with head coach Bill Belichick. Crennel helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls: XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX.
Becoming Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns
In 2005, Romeo Crennel was hired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. In his first two seasons, the team had records of 6 wins and 10 losses, and 4 wins and 12 losses.
However, in the 2007 season, the Browns had a great year. They finished with 10 wins and 6 losses. This was one of the team's best seasons in a long time. Crennel received a two-year contract extension because of this success. But after a tough 2008 season (4 wins, 12 losses), Crennel was fired by the Browns.
Kansas City Chiefs Coaching
On January 13, 2010, Crennel became the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2011, the Chiefs' head coach was fired. Crennel was named the interim head coach for the last three games of the season. In his first game, the Chiefs beat the undefeated Green Bay Packers 19–14. This ended the Packers' 19-game winning streak. Crennel finished his interim coaching with 2 wins and 1 loss.
On January 9, 2012, Crennel was named the full-time head coach of the Chiefs. He also continued as defensive coordinator at first. After a slow start to the 2012 season, he stepped down as defensive coordinator. He coached the Chiefs to a 27–21 victory over the Carolina Panthers, which was their only other home win that season. On December 31, 2012, Crennel was fired as head coach.
Houston Texans Role
On January 20, 2014, Crennel joined the Houston Texans as their new defensive coordinator. He helped the Texans have the #1 ranked defense in the NFL in 2016. In January 2017, he was promoted to assistant head coach. He returned to his defensive coordinator role in 2018.
On October 5, 2020, Crennel was named the interim head coach for the Texans. He took over after the previous coach was fired. At 73 years old, he became the oldest head coach in NFL history. The Texans won his first game as interim head coach, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 30–14. He was also the first African American head coach in Texans history.
Crennel stayed with the Texans in 2021 as a senior advisor for football performance. He announced his retirement from coaching on June 6, 2022. His last NFL game as a coach was on January 9, 2022.
Head Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
| 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 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
| HOU* | 2020 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3rd in AFC South | — | — | — | — |
| HOU total | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Total | 32 | 63 | 0 | .337 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
* – Interim head coach
Personal Life
In early 2009, Crennel had hip replacement surgery. He took the 2009 football season off to recover.
See also
In Spanish: Romeo Crennel para niños
