Topic: Romeo Crennel

Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and current defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. Before becoming the head coach of the Browns, Crennel won three Super Bowls in four seasons as the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Crennel has participated in six Super Bowls winning five of them during his coaching career.

Crennel played baseball and football at Fort Knox (Ky.) High School and Central (Va.) High School before committing to college football at Western Kentucky. Although he was a four-year starter as a defensive lineman, he became an offensive lineman during his senior season at the request of the coaching staff. He was named the team MVP after the switch but was not drafted and never played in the NFL. Crennel earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Western Kentucky, and then a master’s degree while serving as a graduate assistant for the school in 1970.

After one season as a graduate assistant with Western Kentucky (1970), Crennel served as the defensive line coach for three seasons (1971–1974). He then became an assistant for defensive coordinator Bill Parcells and head coach Steve Sloan at Texas Tech for three seasons (1975–1977). Crennel finished his collegiate career with two seasons as the defensive ends coach for Mississippi (1978–1979) and one season as the defensive line coach for Georgia Tech (1980).