Romeo Crennel led the KC Chiefs during a difficult period.

Crennel worked for a number of NFL teams, including the Giants, Patriots, Chiefs, Texans, Browns, and Jets. He began his career as a defensive line coach for Western Kentucky. Crennel retired from the NFL after five Super Bowl victories as an assistant defensive coach, having achieved great success in that role.

The Kansas City Chiefs hired Crennel in 2010 to serve as their defensive coordinator. The Chiefs had a strong 2010 campaign, winning the AFC West for the first time in many years and earning a postseason trip. The 2011 season, nevertheless, wasn’t the follow-up Chiefs supporters had hoped for. Following a catastrophic Week 14 loss to the New York Jets, head coach Todd Haley was fired and the Chiefs concluded with a 7-9 record.

After Haley was fired, Crennel took over as coach in an acting capacity. The then-unbeaten Green Bay Packers were shocked by the 5-8 Chiefs in his debut game as interim head coach. Still, the enormous upset was hardly a portent of things to come. Rather, the victory ended up being the high point of Crennel’s head coaching career.

Romeo Crennel should be commended for his leadership during a difficult period for the Kansas City Chiefs.

For the 2012 campaign, Crennel was the Chiefs’ head coach. The hope that was generated during his interim tenure in 2011 did not carry over into the 2012 season, which proved to be one of the worst in Chiefs history.

Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins on December 1st, 2012. After that, he drove to the Chiefs’ practice ground and committed suicide in front of general manager Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel. Unaware of what Belcher had done, Crennel begged him, assuring him he still had hope and that life was not over, before Belcher took his own life.

The Chiefs beat the Carolina Panthers the following day, on December 2, 2012, although it doesn’t really matter. It’s difficult to play that game again. Watching the footage makes it glaringly clear that the Chiefs coaches and players were dealing with bereavement.After winning, Crennel said he made an effort to maintain his composure in the locker room by thinking about the other guys in the facility and their welfare.

After the 2012 season, the Chiefs let go of Crennel. When it came to points per game, the 2-14 Chiefs came in dead bottom. They were bottom overall in terms of offensive. With the exception of Jamaal Charles, they possessed few offensive weapons, a subpar defense, and no answer at quarterback. That offseason, the Chiefs made a major announcement by appointing Andy Reid as their new coach. The Chiefs would recruit the best quarterback in team history and win a Super Bowl in a few years.

Crennel led the Chiefs during their lowest point. He didn’t have many victories.The Chiefs were really terrible under him, to be honest.At least that is the football portion.

There’s still another component.Crennel saw something horrible. In a time of despair, he demonstrated leadership. He has concern for his players. Throughout the remainder of that 2012 season, he stuck with it. Although he didn’t stay in Kansas City for very long, he was a leader when called upon. These are not trifling matters. It also shouldn’t be debatable to value Crennel’s tenure in Kansas City. To say you respect Crennel is not to imply you think he was a perfect football coach, or that he was, at least during his tenure in Kansas City.