KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Going 2-1 and stunning then-undefeated Green Bay as Kansas City’s interim head coach meant a lot more than gratification for Romeo Crennel.
It also persuaded the Chiefs to give the affable defensive specialist a second chance to be an NFL head coach.
The Chiefs announced Crennel is the official replacement for the fired Todd Haley, removing the interim tag he bore for the last three weeks of the season that ended with a 7-3 victory over the Broncos in Denver.
“The three games had a lot to do with where we arrived at this decision,” general manager Scott Pioli said. “Some of the things we saw was a great deal of accountability and consistency. There was also a different energy to the football team. A lot of it had to do with those last three games.”
Crennel, 64, is a sharp departure from Haley. Often called “a players’ coach” he’s been known to write off mistakes as youthful indiscretions. Ironically, being soft with players was a criticism when he was fired after four years as head coach in Cleveland with a 24-40 record.
Footnotes. Archie Manning said his son Peyton Manning was disappointed that Bill Polian was let go during the Colts’ leadership shake-up but remains committed to coming back next season.
• The Rams said they and the Dolphins are finalists in the bidding to hire Jeff Fisher as their coach. A decision from Fisher is expected this week.
•The Packers canceled player availability, bracing for bad news as authorities searched for Michael T. Philbin, the missing 21-year-old son of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin amid fears that he drowned in an icy Wisconsin river. The Associated Press
