Chiefs fire coach Romeo Crennel, reportedly will retain GM Scott Pioli

Romeo Crennel is 28-55 in five seasons as an NFL head caoch. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Chiefs fired coach Romeo Crennel on Monday but are expected to retain general manager Scott Pioli according to league sources in an ESPN.com report.

The Chiefs finished with an NFL-worst 2-14 record in a season that has been marred by injuries and the tragedy surrounding linebacker Jovan Belcher murdering his girlfriend before committing suicide at the team's facility on Dec. 1.

Crennel, was originally hired as the team's defensive coordinator in 2010 before being promoted to head coach after the Chiefs fired Todd Haley during the 2011 season. He has a 28-55 career record in five years as a head coach.

Pioli has struggled to improve the Chiefs -- who are 23-40 in his four seasons -- since being hired from the Patriots in 2009.

The Chiefs recorded their fifth losing season in the last six years and haven't won a playoff game since 1993.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Romeo, both personally and professionally," Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. "He is an accomplished coach, a man of great character and he helped guide our football team through some extremely challenging circumstances this season. "Finally, I want to personally apologize to our fans for our performance this season. We are blessed to play for some of the best and most passionate fans in the National Football League and they deserve better than what we gave them this season. I want our fans to know that I will do everything I can to provide them with a dramatically better team - both next season and in the seasons to come - and our entire organization appreciates their support."

"However, I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction. I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Chiefs. The entire football operation will remain under review, and there may be additional changes to come. No final determination has been made at this point on the future of General Manager Scott Pioli.