Skip to main content

Romeo Retirement: Patriots Super Bowl Architect Finally Leaves NFL

Former New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel retiring after 50 years in football.

While the current New England Patriots grapple over offensive play-calling, the architect of their past Super Bowl defenses announced his retirement Monday.

Romeo Crennel, who won three Super Bowls in four years running New England's defense in the early 200s, is finally leaving football after 52 consecutive coaching seasons including the last 41 in the NFL. Crennel had been a senior advisor for football performance for the Houston Texans.

Says Crennel's statement:

“Football has been my entire life and it’s been a dream come true to coach for 50 years,” Crennel said. “There are so many friends to thank who have helped me and supported me throughout my career. I especially want to thank the fans and owners of the New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans for allowing me to contribute to the game that I have loved so much for so long. I’ll miss everything about coaching and teaching, but the thing I’ll miss the most is being around the guys every day. My goal was to put every player and coach in the best position to succeed and I consider every guy I coached or worked with a part of my family.”

Crennel had two stints in New England, first working as defensive line coach under Bill Parcells in the early 1990s before returning as Bill Belichick's defensive coordinator on teams that won Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX. To cap the 2001 season Crennel's defense shocked the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" offense, holding it to 17 points. In 2003 he was named the NFL's Assistant Coach of the Year.

One of the most decorated assistant coaches in NFL history, Crennel was a part of 17 playoff appearances with 13 division crowns, six conference titles and has won five of the six Super Bowls he has appeared in (New York Giants – XXI and XXV, New England Patriots – XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX). In recognition of Crennel's accomplishments, the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) awarded him with the 2020 Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman Award for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach.

Crennel coached in college for more than a decade before becoming the Giants’ special teams coach in 1981. He became their defensive line coach in 1990 and then moved on to stints working under Parcells with the Patriots and Jets in the same job. He became the Browns defensive coordinator in 2000 before winning three championships in New England.

Crennel was hired as the Browns head coach in 2005 and went 24-40 over four years. He moved on to run the Chiefs defense in 2010 and became the interim head coach after Todd Haley was fired the next year. He went 4-15 before being fired after the 2012 season.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1970 at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, before enjoying four seasons (1971-74) as the school’s defensive line coach. From there, Crennel began his longtime association with Parcells at Texas Tech (1975-77) where Parcells served as defensive coordinator. He also spent two years at Mississippi (1978-79) coaching the defensive ends. Crennel concluded his collegiate coaching career with a one-year stop at Georgia Tech (1980).

A four-year starter on the defensive line for Western Kentucky, Crennel was elected captain as a senior and earned team MVP honors. He attended Fort Knox High School in Fort Knox, Ky., and Central High School in Amherst, Va. Crennel and his wife Rosemary have three daughters, Lisa Tulley, Tiffany Strokes and Kristine Cullinane. The Crennels also have eight grandchildren.

Tags
terms: