Official statements from Savage, Crennel
Posted December 29th, 2008 by Dan
The Browns just released the following statements.
First, from former general manager Phil Savage:
“I would like to thank Randy Lerner for giving me the opportunity to work for the Cleveland Browns over these past four seasons. Things did not go as well as we had expected, particularly in 2008, however, I do anticipate this team bouncing back and having success in the future.”
And from Romeo Crennel:
“I would like to thank Randy Lerner for giving me the opportunity to coach the Cleveland Browns. Some progress was made in my four years here, but not enough to go forward in this position. The support from the community and the fans has been greatly appreciated. Though this past year has been tough, my experience in Cleveland has been a good one. I did not win enough games so I must move on. Thank you for the opportunity.”
December 29th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
FIRST LET ME SAY THIS ROMEO CRENNEL DID NOT DROP ONE BALL,THROW
NOT ONE INTERCEPTION, DROP NOT ONE BALL, ALL HE EVER DID WAS TRY
AND COACH SOME HARD HEADS HOW TO PLAY BALL. WHY PUNISH THE COACH
HE CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH..GET SOME EXPERIENCE OUT ON THAT FIELD AND
AN OFFENSIVE LINE THEN YOUR QUARTERBACK CAN THROW TOUCHDOWN AND
MOVE THE CHAINS…THE QUARTERBACK CAN ONLY DO WHAT THE LINE ALLOWS
HIM TO DO AND COACH CAN ONLY COACH HE CAN'T PLAY TO.I DONT THINK
THEY SHOULD HAVE LET ROMEO GO IF GIVEN THE RIGHT PLAYERS AND PLAYER
CALLERS HE MAY HAVE TURNED CLEVELAND AROUND
December 29th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Romeo is a fine individual and a class act but it was time for him to be fired. You are right that he did not drop a pass or fumble but this is his team and he has made some questionable decisions this year and in the past. His biggest problem was not showing enough emotion to act like he cared. Whomever you put on the field the coach is responsible to coach to the players strengths and he did not do that. Players were on the bench when they should have been given an opportunity, like Harrison. Players played, like Edwards, when they should have been benched. Going for field goals when it was obvious to everyone the Browns should go for it. Little things like that can cause you wins and respect. Romeo is a fine man but he is not a head coach.
December 29th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
RAC could be an effective defensive coordinator, but he's not the front man – the fire, passion, yelling when yelling was needed, benching guys that should have been benched … all that wasn't there. He might be good running a defense, but not a head coach. True, he didn't drop passes, throw willy nilly, hopefully didn't do the play calling (TERRIBLE!), but the head coach has to get the guys EXPECTING to win – just watch Baltimore on the sidelines during their comeback win earlier. Those guys expect to win, and the Browns do not – period.
Did they quit? It shouldn't even be an issue whether they did or not! It shouldn't look like they quit – ever! Once the question even comes up, the head coach has to jump in and fix it immediately – but this year, once the quit issue came up, it just got worse and worse. All of the focus was on trying to ask the guys not to talk about quitting.
You can bargain and talk calmly with your kids all the time, but there usually comes a time when a parent says 'enough' and disciplines a kid. The coach isn't supposed to be the players best friend – he has to come up with something more than "this was a disappointing loss". Romeo seems like a nice guy, and did a great job on defense before… we'll see…
December 29th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
the whole coaching staff should be let go except maybe special teams they cant tackle block catch no heart not physical they say a team is a reflection of the coach look at romeo during a game n u see y they dont block tackle catch etc………………..
December 29th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
1986: Well, there is always next year.
1987: Well, there is always next year.
1988: Well, there is always next year.
1989: Well, there is always next year.
1990: Well, there is always next year.
1991: Well, there is always next year.
1992: Well, there is always next year.
1993: Well, there is always next year.
1994: Well, there is always next year.
1995: Well, there is always next year.
1996: Well, there is always next year.
1997: Well, there is always next year.
1999: Well, there is always next year.
2000: Well, there is always next year.
2001: Well, there is always next year.
2002: Well, there is always next year.
2003: Well, there is always next year.
2004: Well, there is always next year.
2005: Well, there is always next year.
2006: Well, there is always next year.
2007: Well, there is always next year.
2008: Well, there is always next year.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
WHAT WAS SO GREAT ABOUT 1985?!?!
December 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
What this team needs is CONTINUITY!!! Since this team has come back in 1999, how many head coaches and quarterbacks have we had? How many times has the back up quarterback replaced the starter the minute something doesn't go right? How many times do we have to go through this? I fully expected Phil Savage to be fired and rightly so. Romeo has ownership in this whole thing too, although I will say that the players themselves truly underperformed this season. Yesterday before the game, they were talking to Romeo on the radio and he talked about Pittsburgh being an organization with CONTINUITY. How is it that so many teams have depth so if an injury happens (Tom Brady, Tommy Maddux) and these teams have players that step up and take over (Matt Cassell, Ben Rothlisberger), but we don't. Coach Cower was with the Steelers for how many years? How many Super Bowls did he get? He had his ups and downs, but the Rooneys stuck with him and by him. What if he had said yes to coaching here and then had a losing season or three? He would be gone just like that! What is it about the Cleveland organization? I say to Randy Lerner, when is the consistency going to come? It is insane. When are we going to truly invest in leadership that will guide this team to a winning season. I am not even asking for playoffs, I just want a winning season more than one year. Don't go from 10-6 back to 4-12. Ridiculous. And now we are going to start over all over again with a new coach. Please get someone with experience and that will give this team something to work up to, expectations to meet, and if they don't, they are benched and the ones that want it will go for it. And yes, attitude is so important. This team needs to think WIN and believe WIN and act like it and play like it. I am tired of excuses. One of my main problems with Romeo, although I do like the guy, is that he always made excuses during his press conferences. Get upset and let the players know that mediocrity is not good enough. These guys get paid a lot of money. If I did my job like Braylon Edwards did his this season, I would have been gone a long time ago. I love football. I am a huge fan and will never give up. But something has got to change. Please change the culture in Brownstown.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I am not an avid Browns fan. However, my family has invested in season tickets since the 1960's. I don't attend games anymore because of working Sundays, but I am convinced that my 18 year old brother, who attends every game with my dad, and studies and analyzes the games and players, would make a great coach. He wouldn't be expensive either! So what is to lose?
December 30th, 2008 at 1:51 am
I'm all for hiring Erin's brother.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Me too
December 30th, 2008 at 2:20 am
Normally I don't comment on these boards, but it's late and I'm still awake, so I figured, what the heck.
First, I have to say that I laugh when I read comments from all these people who say Romeo should have benched Edwards. I'm sure everyone would have loved watching Donte Stallworth and, um, Syndric Steptoe? Yes, I'm certain our offensive line could have kept the defense off our QB long enough for one of those stellar receivers to get open. If there had been ANY other decent receivers on the team I would have been all for benching Edwards. But unless you're planning on running the ball every play there's no way you could put Edwards on the bench because you'd have nobody left to throw to. And I'm certain that we can all evaluate the talent on this roster better than the Browns' coaches. I mean, we get to see them play for what, 20-25 minutes a week? The coaches only see them for a few HOURS every DAY. I'm sure they couldn't know more than we do. Has anyone considered the reason Jerome Harrison didn't play more is perhaps he can't block? I don't know if that's the case, but you can't look at one aspect of the game and think, "This guy should be playing more, look at him run". Braylon Edwards leveled a guy with a block, maybe he should be playing on the offensive line.
Tammy is right on the money when she says this team lacks consistency. You don't see too many teams change coaches every 3 years and have a whole lot of success. Was Romeo perfect? Did he make all the right decisions? No, of course not. But the last time I checked no coach has ever made all the right decisions all the time. But it's just like a baseball manager taking his starting pitcher out in the 9th inning of a close game. If the bullpen comes in and blows the game people bitch because he took the starter out. If the manager leaves the guy in there and the starter blows the game people bitch because he left him in. Coaches draw up game plans, call plays, and decide who gets playing time. If the players are a bunch of no-talent hacks then Vince Lombardi himself isn't going to beat anybody with them. And as far as Romeo not showing any emotion, I believe there's another guy with a bunch of Super Bowl rings on his fingers who rarely shows emotion on the sidelines. I think his name is Belichick or something? Funny how he went from being a horrible head coach in Cleveland to being a great head coach in New England. I'm sure the talent he was given to work with didn't have anything to do with it. As the saying goes:"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". Is Romeo a good coach? I don't know. But I do know I would have liked to have seen what he could do with some good players. I also know that making players learn a new system every couple of years is not a good recipe for success. Fortunately for us we all know that the coaches we run out of Cleveland never amount to anything.
Most people probably think the Browns' defense is worse than their offense. But the team finished at +5 in turnover ratio and the defense was 2nd in the league in turnovers behind Baltimore. Can you believe this defense had 23 INTs and 8 fumble recoveries? They also ranked in the middle of the pack(17th) in points allowed. If Phil Savage would have addressed the offense, especially the receivers, a little more after Joe Jurevicius and Ryan Tucker went down the season probably would have turned out a whole lot better.
While there are exceptions, most of the time changing coaches is like putting new hub caps on a car with a cracked head, leaky radiator, and broken oil pump. It may make it look prettier, but it's not going to fix a damn thing. The only thing that's going to fix this team are some new players. Whoever ends up coaching this team next year I wish him a lot of luck because he's going to need it.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I could use a job.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I can coach. I cannot play, but I can coach.