Good morning and congratulations to Romeo Crennel! As you can imagine, today's Kansas City Chiefs news looks at the head coaching hire. Enjoy.
The lasting image that Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli has of Romeo Crennel is from a photograph taken in the mid-1970s. Crennel, then an assistant coach at Texas Tech, wore a bushy mustache and a big smile while he posed with the young daughter of colleague Bill Parcells.
"It's quite the image," Pioli said.
Decades later, Pioli is married to Parcells' daughter, Dallas, and is staking his reputation on the man with the mustache. The times have changed, and Crennel isn't the young and inexperienced coach he was in the photograph. He has learned from good times and bad, and Pioli announced Monday that he trusts that Crennel has learned enough to be the face - now with only a cropped salt-and-pepper mustache - of the Chiefs' future.
Chiefs Turn To Romeo Crennel's Experience from KC Star
Now that Crennel has been chosen as head coach, the wheels of the 2012 offseason have officially been set into motion.
First up is finalizing a staff.
Since he took over as Kansas City's interim head coach, Crennel was clear in his opinion that a head coach must be permitted to construct his own staff in order to be successful. Crennel will have full authority to make those decisions, beginning with choosing an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
Crennel's Hiring Puts The Offseason In Motion from The Mothership
KC Star Photo Gallery: Romeo Crennel Through The Years
NFL.com Video: Crennel Named Chiefs Head Coach
NFL.com Video: Coaches Show: Crennel Named Chiefs' Coach
Crennel has 30 years of NFL coaching experience. He was a defensive coach on the staff of five Super Bowl champion teams and was the head coach for Cleveland from 2005 through 2008, compiling a 24-40 record.
"This job is not always the easiest job to have," Crennel said. "I had one once before and it didn't turn out like I wanted it to. I'm going to work very hard to try to make this one turn out the way I want it to."
It's Official: Crennel Is Chiefs' New Coach from KC Star
Q: Romeo, you are immensely popular in the locker room. The players really were pulling for you. Are you a "players' coach?"
CRENNEL: "I'm not exactly sure what a players' coach is. Sometimes, I think players think that a coach who is on their side is a players' coach or who always rules in favor of them may be a players' coach. Now, I know that that's not always the case with me. I think that basically I'm a good guy. I think this is what players appreciate: players appreciate honesty; players appreciate you telling them like it is. They don't always want to hear it, but that's what they appreciate and that's what I try to do to the players. I try to tell them what I believe, what I feel and how I think it should be done. So, I think that that's what they appreciate, that I will be fair with them. They don't always like it, they're not crazy about it, but they appreciate it.
Chairman & CEO Clark Hunt, GM Scott Pioli & Head Coach Romeo Crennel from The Mothership
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.
Romeo Crennel Is Good For The Chiefs - If Scott Pioli Changes His Ways from KC Star
I wouldn't go as far as to say there would have been a mutiny in the Kansas City locker room had Crennel been bypassed for this job. However, he has universal support from the players, and they already showed they'll play hard for him. The Chiefs have a good, young roster, and they should be a lot healthier in 2012. The future is bright.
Pioli Makes Right Call In Crennel from ESPN
"One thing RAC said at the time was, 'I want you to go out and talk to other people because if you make this decision, I want you to know that you're making the right decision,'" Pioli said.
Many players had said they wanted to win the last three games to help Crennel get the job.
"Throughout the year, we were all over a little bit. We came to a common ground over the last three weeks," said fullback Le'Ron McClain. "We started doing good when Romeo stepped in."
Chiefs Pick Romeo Crennel As Head Coach from The Associated Press via USA Today
"In the old days, a players' coach was a guy who didn't work 'em very hard," Vermeil said. "I think that's changed over the years to somebody who respected the players and gave them the same respect he expects from them.
"But that doesn't mean he isn't going to work them hard. That doesn't mean he isn't going to challenge them, that doesn't mean he's not going to chew them out, or cut them or waive them or fire them. But when they're at work, he's going to treat them with respect."
Crennel Seemed To Be Players' Choice from KC Star