Romeo Crennel is a rare breed of among NFL coaches.
After four stops at the college level to kick off his coaching career at Western Kentucky, Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech, Crennel entered the NFL ranks in 1981 and has been a mainstay in the league ever since.
Today, Crennel announced that he's made the decision to hang up his whistle and is stepping into retirement after five decades in coaching.
He has spent the past four decades in the NFL ranks working with defensive lines, serving as defensive coordinator, and getting three opportunities to sit in the head coaching chair at the highest level of football.
After serving as Bill Belichick's defensive coordinator in New England from 2001-04, Crennel landed the Browns head coaching job from 2005-08, where he went 24-40 overall, including an impressive 10-6 season in 2007.
He later took over an interim head coach for the Chiefs during the final few games of the 2011 season and earned the nod to head coach for the 2012 season, but was ultimately let go after one 2-14 campaign.
He stepped into the interim head coach role again, this time for the Texans after the departure of Bill O'Brien early in the 2020 season, leading them to a 4-8 finish in their final 12 games.
As an NFL head coach, Crennel held a 32-63 record. He also held the coordinator title for the Browns, Patriots, Chiefs, and Texans dating back to 2000.
"Football has been my entire life life and it's been a dream come true to coach for 50 years," Crennel opens his statement by saying.
"I especially want to thank the fans and owners of the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, and Houston Texans for allowing me to contribute to the game that I have loved so much for so long."
"I'll miss everything about coaching and teaching, but the thing I'll miss the most is being around the guys every day. My goal was to put every player and coach in the best position to succeed and I consider every guy I coached or worked with a part of my family."
Crennel, who is 74, had been with the Texans since 2014, serving in a variety of roles during the past several years including defensive coordinator and assistant head coach and most recently with the title of senior advisor for football performance.
Please join us in wishing coach Crennel all the best in the next chapter of his life, which he says will include spending more time with his grandchildren "while staying around the game of football."
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