The Cleveland Browns should fire Romeo Crennel and hire Marty Schottenheimer. No, I don't mean next season. I mean right now. This just makes sense on so many levels. First, let's face it: Crennel hasn't done a good job with the Browns. When he was the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator, I always thought Crennel would make a good head coach. But in two seasons at the helm in Cleveland, he's done nothing to make me keep that opinion. Have you ever watched the Browns in the Crennel era and thought you were watching a well-coached team?
Schottenheimer, of course, coached in Cleveland once before, and he gave the Browns their best years since the 1950s. And he'd be a perfect fit for the current Browns: He favors the 3-4 defense, which they're set up to run, and his former assistant, Rob Chudzinski, was just hired as the Browns' offensive coordinator.
Barring a major turnaround in 2007, Crennel will be out of a job in 11 months. Schottenheimer would be the obvious candidate. If they hire him now, they won't have to get into a bidding war with another team for Schottenheimer's services, which could happen next year.
There is one obstacle: The Rooney Rule. The Browns can't just fire Crennel and hire Schottenheimer without interviewing a minority candidate first. This is the same predicament the Detroit Lions found themselves in when team president Matt Millen fired Marty Mornhinweg solely because Steve Mariucci became available, and no minority candidates would interview with the Lions because they knew such an interview would be a sham. The same would happen in Cleveland, which means the Browns would likely suffer the same fate as Millen: A $250,000 fine for the person in charge of their coaching search.
Although I respect the spirit of the Rooney Rule, this is one situation when a team ought to take its chances at violating the rule. One local columnist says changing coaches now would expose the Browns to ridicule, but what really exposes teams to ridicule is consistent losing. The Browns need to change that, and Schottenheimer would.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-02-2007 @ 11:00PM
atlantic city said...
The Rooney rule is garbage. Two black coachs just played in the Super Bowl. Now I say, is there still a need for this rule?
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2-14-2007 @ 10:38AM
JJ said...
The best qualified coach should get the job, regardless of whether he is black, white or purple. But just playing devil's advocate, how come no one makes a big deal out of the fact that there are no Hispanic head coaches in the league? Ron Rivera still doesn't have a head coaching job... should a rule be made to make sure Hispanics have as much an opportunity as caucasians and african americans?
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2-14-2007 @ 10:39AM
JJ said...
Wasn't Shottenheimer's first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns?
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2-14-2007 @ 1:01PM
Socabeast said...
I agree with you, Mike. I don't see any Browns progressing under Crennel. The Dawg fans like myself have lost patience with him. Why wait any longer? Fire Crennel and grab Marty. He may finally leads Browns into Super Bowl this time...
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2-14-2007 @ 2:27PM
G said...
Marty is a good coach,no denying that.But Marty has a flaw,in that he thinks every decision begins and ends with him.If you hire him,thats what you're hiring.Marty's first tenure with the Browns ended because of his refusal to hire an Offensive Coordinator.Marty held both positions and the offense went stagnant.Marty did'nt just leave,he was forced to hire a coordinator,or leave. He chose the later because he wants total control of EVERYTHING.I would imagine that was his undoing in San Diego and KC as well.Be careful what you wish for,you might just get it.
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2-14-2007 @ 2:34PM
tom joad said...
Give Marty another go in Cleveland. Just look at the guy's record...like wow. Local Kansas City sports had a short clip of him last night. He said his health is good and he enjoys coaching. He looked terrific. I say give him a go.
I will also say he has been all around it, one of these days he will get there. He seems to want to try some more...give him a shot.
I would never have fired him in SD. No way. I would have figured out the GM one way or the other. But I would have kept Marty in place, period.
Last, I would pay the 250K and hire him on the spot he will take it. Done deal.
TJ
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2-14-2007 @ 3:17PM
david blair said...
fire crennel,hire cower. cower knows how to get the most out of his talent. not to mention he is a former cleveland brown and i think the city would embrace him.not only would he motivate the team but he would motivate me to watch them play
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2-14-2007 @ 3:39PM
Ken Cleveland said...
I agree that Romeo is not cut out as a head coach, He looks like a deer in the headlights on the sideline and I swear I've never seen him actually talk into his headset. I think they don't turn it on for him. Having said this I cannot embrace Marty. Plain and simple as my best friend always says "Marty will never win the big one". I do however agree that coach Cohwer has an awfully good ring to it.
Thanks
Ken
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2-14-2007 @ 4:27PM
VK said...
To Atlantic City and JJ....You have to be blind or crazy to think that there is no need for the Rooney Rule just because two black coaches made it to the super bowl this year. The fact that it was such a big deal underlines the need for the rule since black coaches are still a rarity. The rule is not designed to have the less qualified candidate hired but rather to make sure that perfectly qualified candidates arent passed over because of their race, be it Black or Hispanic, which was the NFL M.O. for years, and still is, some would argue.
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2-14-2007 @ 5:17PM
Kelly McGreehan said...
I don't understand why it matters. Football is about winning and with Crennel, the browns have not done that. If I had a choice between a coach with a 2006 season win total at 4 or 14, I would pick the guy with 14. At least those years we were so bad, we got a top draft pick.
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2-14-2007 @ 6:36PM
nick said...
you Browns fans are really idiots.....EVERY year once the season is over, you guys always say the same crap about the head coach ..... fire Palmer, fire Butch and now it's fire Crennel. I understand you guys suffered enough, but damn, enough already.
The coaches aren't on the field dropping passes, throwing ints, missing tackles or missing blocks. I thought the players did all those things.
Cleveland fans are the worst, Why would Marty come back to Cleveland? didn't he do his job by getting the guys to the playoffs in the 80's?
Remember idiots, you don't have Bernie, Byner, Mack, Slaughter anymore nor do you have anyone close to L.T.you could have had him, but you all thought Gerald Warren was a better pick( how stupid was that) ,but instead you guys had Couch ( dumb pick), Dilfer ( why?), Garcia ( old), Holcomb( sigh), so what can Marty do with garbage that Crennel has now? I know Excuses, Excuses...it's not the head coach idiots, it's the players. besides who's out there that has Crennel creditials?
I believe Crennel has 5 superbowl rings 2 with the Giants and 3 with the Patriots, show me someone who has that and I'll shut up, but until then quit crying ya big babies. Try sticking with the same system..look at Pittsburgh it took them a while to win the superbowl, but they stuck with the same system. Browns fans are clueless idiots.......that's why you're the laughing stock of the NFL. Oh I guess fire me too since the truth hurts?
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2-14-2007 @ 6:57PM
George B Vieto said...
Hiring Marty Schottenheimer right now and firing Romeo Crennel as head coach would be a quick fix in a perfect world. The Rooney Rule is insulting because a person should hired on merit not skin color.
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2-14-2007 @ 7:12PM
Andy Riordan said...
I would like to see Crennel get one more year. He inherited a bad team and one more year should be a determining factor. Amazingly, in Boston, Danny ainge has ruined a Celtics team after four years and the coach will take the blame. Arethe Brown's players all his doing?
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2-14-2007 @ 10:29PM
larry connelly said...
It does not matter who is Clevelands head coach is because they are headed to L.A within 3 years.No owner or GM makes the moves that have without the intent to drive away the local fan base and upset the local media so they can put forth the old scapegoat that we ( The Browns) have no support thus we must move.It is all about the greenbacks to be made in LA.The Browns owner is not a stupid person he has had a 5 year program to move and he just finish the 2 year, more proof will come when the Browns draft a flashy running back to show off in LA not not the work-a-day O line-men they really need.
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2-14-2007 @ 8:18PM
wyckedheart said...
7. fire crennel,hire cower. cower knows how to get the most out of his talent. not to mention he is a former cleveland brown and i think the city would embrace him.not only would he motivate the team but he would motivate me to watch them play
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2-14-2007 @ 9:16PM
wildman2 said...
Let me see...post 11 by Nick sya s the coach isn't the one who makes players play to their potential? He sites that it's the players who drop passes, miss tackles etc yet then goes on about Crennel's 5 rings??? And he calls Browns fans idiots?? Look up the word "contradiction" you moron.
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2-14-2007 @ 8:46PM
James P. Bonadonna said...
This hiring coaches just for their color is just a bunch of sh----t, you hire the person that is most qualified for the job. Where is the sport for hiring one person over another? We fans want to see good games, not color.
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2-14-2007 @ 10:51PM
ron adkins said...
It appears that coaches do not run the team.Marty would want hands on would they allow that I doubt it.I for one am tired of watching a high school team in an NFL game.The players have the potential but it comes down to who is calling the shots.If we dont go to the games they take it away from us even though they dont try to come up with a .500 team.Please somebody drive this bus
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2-14-2007 @ 10:53PM
nick said...
Hey Wildman/idiot......when and where did i say the "Coach isn't the one who makes players play to their potential"? No idiot, the players should play to their potential by the time they get to the NFL. Yeah so I did mention Crennels five rings, what about it? Firing Crennel only pushes the team further back. I'm not saying he's the best, but Crennel has credentials. Yeah jackass, the players are the ones who drop passes and miss tackles or blocks. Crennel has coached players to a superbowl several times. uh, has Marty done that? Why am I even trying to explain to an idiot fan like yourself? it's a waste of time. Where did I contradict myself jackass? And by the way I sought the word contradiction and it said. "Art Modell leaving Cleveland to win a Superbowl in Baltimore"
You must be the biggest idiot of them all.
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2-14-2007 @ 11:21PM
SJ said...
If the Browns move to LA they will fail worse than they do now. I don't care what team moves to LA, or even if it's a new team that the NFL sticks in there. It will fail and move away. Look at the Rams and Raiders. The LA fan base is a joke. They only come to games when their teams are winning championships, and in the NFL that just doesn't happen every year. The fans out there have made it clear that they don't care about NFL football one way or another. Why should they. They have the Lakers....and as great as the Lakers are the fans mostly abandoned them when they were losing a few years back...remember that? So trust me, after about 4 or maybe 5 seasons of losing football and wasted #1 picks, the Browns or whoever will be moving away. Cleveland fans might complain, but I respect them for standing behind their team no matter what. LA fans don't deserve another team...and yeah I know they'll get one because it's all about the tv money, but it won't last and the NFL will once again look foolish and greedy.
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