Former Browns head coach Romeo Crennel won't coach in 2009, according to the Boston Globe.

In a story by Mike Reiss, Crennel said he wants to spend 2009 getting healthy following February hip surgery.

By the end of his coaching career in Cleveland, in which he went 24-40, it was easy to dislike Crennel. The Browns were at times very terrible. Make sure to check out that story to understand why, regardless of how poor he did in Cleveland, Crennel remains a likable person.

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.”

- Allentown Morning Call (Larry O'Rourke): Ex-Eagle Fraley thankful for his years in Philadelphia

- Akron Beacon Journal (Marla Ridenour): Andra Davis content right where he is

- Elyria Chronicle-Telegram (Scott Petrak): Past their prime (time): Browns don’t give national TV audience much reason to care

- Philadelphia Inquirer (Phil Sheridan): Eagles lucky Browns play role of patsy

- Philadelphia Inquirer (Bob Ford): The old McNabb is back

- Plain Dealer (Mary Kay Cabot): McDonald's thefts are Browns' lone highlights

- Plain Dealer (Terry Pluto): For forlorn Browns fans, all that's left is a slow, sad march to the finish

- What I'm saying today: Absolutely pathetic. Forget the score. Forget the poor play. Romeo Crennel, in some fashion, is sabotaging part of the future of the Cleveland Browns. Because he is too stubborn, the Browns are not giving more playing to Martin Rucker, Beau Bell, Ahtyba Rubin or Alex Hall. What exactly are the Browns playing for, if not the future? Pride? That was gone long ago. Regardless of whether or not the Browns had someone who could be interim coach, Crennel should have been fired several weeks ago. Instead, the fans get to watch (and pay for) some of the worst football I've ever seen the last two weeks.

Oh, one other thing. The play of Brandon McDonald last night will look good on the stat sheet and probably be overlooked. He was terrible, outside of that first interception. The second one only came because it was tipped. Other than that, he was routinely beaten last night and missed tackles.

On the prospects of Joshua Cribbs seeing time at quarterback, here is what Derek Anderson had to say:

"We're not putting Josh in. You guys [must be] on crack, smoking crack. [Just] because we're playing bad doesn't mean we're going to put a receiver at quarterback."

Well, that was certainly an odd thing to say. First, Cribbs maybe shouldn't be considered a receiver at all. He only has two catches this year. He's just a football player.

Second, those crackhead reporters should pass the rock to Rob Chudzinski and Romeo Crennel then. What else do the Browns have to lose? More games? That's going to happen anyway. A reputation? That's gone already.

Maybe with Cribbs at quarterback, the fans have something to have fun with. Or the team could find a gadget play to use next year with Cribbs at quarterback. Because, let's face it, when Cribbs has been lining up at quarterback in Wildcat formations, it hasn't really worked.

In other news, it's cold outside. I mostly just wanted to forget about today's game. So, here is this story.

Among the notes in it, the Browns could be looking at a Schottenheimer. But could it be young Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets' offensive coordinator? Boy, I hope not. Here is who the article lists as a possible Crennel replacement:

Among the names topping a possible candidate list: Bill Cowher, Marty Scottenheimer, and coordinators like the Jets' Brian Schottenheimer, the Giants' Steve Spagnuolo, the Titans' Jim Schwartz, the Falcons' Mike Mularkey and the Ravens' Rex Ryan.

Ply your bets in the comments on who you think will be the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Amidst a season of crisis, Randy Lerner has finally spoken.  He has said no major changes are coming until January.  Those of you who placed a bet this week on Romeo's fate will likely have to pay up when you see your family on Thanksgiving.

On top of that, he states no passes have been made at former Steelers head coach and current CBS Analyst Bill Cowher.   Again, pay up your bets folks.

Marty Schottenheimer?  He's done with the NFL.

Lastly, head coach Romeo Crennel has said that Brady Quinn will start against the Colts this Sunday.  If you are playing along with me, you owe someone money for some of these random bets.

My take on it all:

Randy Lerner has been absent this year amidst other issues.  It's nice to see him pipe up on the matter, but it seems a bit too late.  When your owner (allegedly) has not seen a game in person this year, how well of a grasp does he have on the issues at hand?

As far as Cowher goes, this is an issue that Browns need to drop, at least for now.  He's loyal to the Rooney family, and lives much more stress-free existence working for CBS.  That train is never leaving the station.

Marty?  Would be a great story, but it's not going to happen.

As far as Quinn goes…it feels like he will facing an uphill battle for the rest of the season with his finger, and a potentially lame-duck coach.  Crennel has gone to the bench once for Derek Anderson, it will just get easier from here.

The movie Groundhog Day featured comedian Bill Murray as a meteorologist who keeps reliving the same day over and over again as a chance to re-examine his life and priorities.  Murray's character takes advantage of this day to lead a hedonistic life at first, but rarely making the appropriate changes to his life.  Romeo Crennel and the Cleveland Browns appear to be stuck in a similar situation, except without the groundhog present.

For the second time in five days, the Browns are seeking to pick up the pieces of a fourth quarter meltdown.  In both games they were up by two scores, only to see both their offense and defense collapse.  On a Thursday instead of Sunday this time, the offense lost the ability to gain yardage and drain out the clock, and the defense could not stop the other team from scoring.  Thursday's collapse against Denver felt so much like Sunday's against the Ravens that if you went down to Mall C on Lakeside, it's possible Barack Obama was hosting a rally to support his election to the Oval Office. 

Facing a beaten Denver team, the Browns appeared to be clearly in control through three quarters with a nice lead.  As the Browns continued to nibble, stumbling on good drives that ended in field goals, the Broncos were just warming up on offense.  Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler ended the game throwing for a career high 447 yards and three touchdowns.  All three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, including a 93 yard strike to Eddie Royal.  Cutler had been playing with no threat of a running game, as rookie Ryan Torain and second year veteran Selvin Young both left due to injury, forcing them to play rookie fullback Peyton Hillis at tailback. 

On a battered Denver defense, playing without Champ Bailey, Marlon McCree, DJ Williams, and for part of the game Nate Webster, they were able to produce key stops in the second half that slowed down the Browns offense.  Denver's defense produced key third down stops that didn't allow the Browns once high powered passing attack to be effective in the second half.  The forced fumble of Kellen Winslow by Dre Bly lead to the go-ahead touchdown. 

Despite the loss, the Browns were finally able to see what second year quarterback Brady Quinn was made of.  He had an efficient day, completing 23/35 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.  Quinn took the loss on his shoulders afterwards, in particular the pass thrown to Winslow on the final drive that resulted in a drop.

"I told everyone, this one is flat on me," Quinn said. "I know I am good enough that I can make a play at the end and win. I felt comfortable out there, it's my home away from home."

Let's hope next week breaks the Groundhog Day cycle. 

Game Balls

Offense:  Brady Quinn, QB – Quinn's first regular season NFL start was positive.  Quinn was efficient, completing nearly 70% of his passes for a good majority of the game.  He was able to make quick decisions with the ball, and his mobility aided him in keeping plays alive.  His start was not perfect though, as he was throwing balls low for most of the night.  Quinn's performance should continue to improve as he wears off the rust.

Defense:  Willie McGinest, OLB – The wiley veteran played a strong game against both the run and the pass this week.  McGinest also had a key hit on tight end Nate Jackson that stopped a third quarter Denver drive.  McGinest isn't the player he once was, but he still plays mistake free football. 

Special Teams:  Joshua Cribbs, WR – The past two games it's been hard to determine Cribbs's bigger impact, on coverage units or as a return man.  Cribbs had three special teams tackles this week (two solo), and averaged 27 yards per kick return.  His impact alone on returns seals his value, but he is improving his play as gunner on coverage.  Cribbs is easily the best overall special teams player in the league.

Turning Point

The Broncos had matchup problems with Kellen Winslow all night long.  Their safeties, particularly Marquand Manuel, were physical enough to make the stops on him, but couldn't run with him down the seam.  The fourth quarter drop which sealed the Denver win was heartbreaking, because it was a catchable ball.  Despite having a productive day, between that play and the fourth quarter pass interference penalty which negated a fifteen yard reception by Braylon Edwards, Winslow killed two key drives.  His play on the field is starting to represent the off-field distractions that have plagued him this season.  Winslow is a talented, but emtionally charged player.  He needs to play under control and more naturally, or else he will continue to struggle.

Last Straw

Blow a fourth quarter lead against the Ravens, and Derek Anderson loses his job.  Blow a fourth quarter lead against the Broncos, what will the fallout be this week?  No matter how well Quinn plays, he cannot save Romeo Crennel's job unless the team starts winning.  Finishing games is an issue, along with losing games in the division have haunted Crennel's Browns.  Crennel has to prove he's an NFL head coach, despite having five Super Bowl rings as an assistant.

Who were your thoughts on the game?

For about the last 24 hours or so, when word of Kellen Winslow's suspension leaked out, I've been trying to think about what to write.

Is it Winslow's fault? Is it Romeo Crennel's fault? Is it Phil Savage's fault?

At first, I blamed it on Savage, considering he couldn't spare a few minutes to give one of his stars a call while he was in the hospital. (And apparently doesn't do it with other players)

Then, I blamed Winslow. He needed to more callous with the entire situation and not spout off to the media.

Earlier today, I was blaming Crennel for not telling the team. From AP:

Despite a disturbing number of staph cases in recent years, the Browns did not inform their other players that tight end Kellen Winslow was hospitalized with a staph infection earlier this month.

One day after the Browns suspended the Pro Bowl tight end for one game without pay for comments and behavior disparaging to the organization, coach Romeo Crennel said the team kept Winslow's illness private after reaching an agreement with him not to disclose his medical condition.

"He was in the hospital and it was a personal issue," Crennel said Wednesday in explaining the team's decision to keep Winslow's illness from his teammates.

Patrick McManamon has a very good recap of the whole scenario on his blog. Since he gets paid to do it, he's much better at this conjecture than I am, so check it out.

Now that this thing has basically run its course, I'm back to blaming Savage. Take away the blabbing to the media aspect of the situation, and it's incredibly hard to fault Winslow. Is anything he had to say incorrect? If he was just complaining about the team playing bad, would he be suspended?

Most people are convinced he's only doing this because he's upset about his contract situation. Others think he was suspended because the Browns don't want him.

I don't believe either.

To me, this is just a situation of "Kellen being Kellen" and the Browns holding him on a short leash due to his attitude and the motorcycle incident.

Still, Savage could have remedied the situation just by giving Winslow a call in the hospital and being up front with the media about the situation. Problem solved.

Instead, as McManamon wrote today, Winslow's days in Cleveland are numbered. And that's sad. He's a heck of a lot of fun to watch and plays the game the right way.

Notes…
Indeed, there is more going on with a 2-4 team than a staph infection situation. Such as…

Wait, actually there isn't. Check back in tomorrow because I'll have some thoughts on what I want to see in Sunday's game. Please note, it will include nothing about Kellen Winslow!

On Sunday, I'll be live-blogging the game, so stop in and say hello.

Since the Browns lost to Dallas and Pittsburgh to begin the season, man fans have angrily been calling for the firing of head coach Romeo Crennel and the benching of starting quarterback Derek Anderson.

So, with having two weeks to prepare for Monday night's game against the Giants, should Crennel be gone if the Browns drop to 1-4? If Anderson continues to complete less than 50 percent of his passes and throws more interceptions than touchdowns, does he automatically get benched?

During the Browns' week off, that is all I've been able to think about with the team. Not how Ryan Tucker will probably play his first game of the season. Or how Browns cornerbacks will do against Plaxico Burress, who is probably motivated after coming off suspension. I haven't even thought about how the somewhat sluggish offensive line is going to stop the renowned New York pass rush.

Nope. It's been whether or not we'll be seeing the last of Crennel and Anderson this season. This may not necessarily a rub off of the loser mentality most Cleveland sports fans have, but it sure seems like it.

Notes…
Patrick McManamon checks in with his weekly 1st and 10. Always a solid, quick read.

McManamon also had a really good column today on penalties in the NFL and how it relates to the Browns.

Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository gives this season a kick in the pants, and I don't mean the back side.

Hey, by the time I wrote that all out, I had a new thought about the Browns! They were losing 30-3 in the second quarter of the preseason game against the Giants. Oof.

The season begins Thursday. That is crazy. If you're interested in seeing the first-team offense or defense, make sure to tune in on time because Romeo Crennel plans to play the starters a quarter.

The game is on NBC at 7:30 p.m. You can also listen on WMMS (100.7-FM), though hearing games on radio just isn't the same without Casey Coleman on the sideline. That's not to say anything bad about Andre Knott, who does a great job. Speaking of Andre, make sure to check out his blog. He updates it frequently and really has his ear inside the locker room at all times.

But anyway. With the starters playing a quarter (which is the usual for the first preseason game), it's possible the offense and defense could both get two series. It will be interesting to see the Browns' new defensive line against the Jets, who added left guard Alan Faneca in the offseason.

The game is in Cleveland. If you go, pass along anything you want to me and I'll make sure to get it up on the blog.

Notes…
You may have noticed, but ESPN just brought in NFL divisional bloggers. They got a real steal with James Walker on the AFC North. He had a story last week on the team's cornerbacks. Good, quick read.

Is Braylon Edwards really poised to have the greatest season ever for a wide receiver?