The Curious Case of Charlie and Romeo

The date was Feb. 6, 2005. The Patriots had just won their third Super Bowl in four years, this one a 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles (which was more lopsided than the score indicated). The Pats were officially a dynasty.


Head coach Bill Belichick embraced his two coordinators; the architect's of a gritty defense and a potent offense. He was hugging them because he would never break down game film with them again. One would take his advanced and strategic offensive playbook to one of the most celebrated college football programs in the NCAA: Notre Dame. The other would take his hard-nosed defensive philosophy to a Cleveland Browns team that had struggled to string together wins since re-joining the NFL in 1999. Both were going to be first-time head coaches and were expected to be great, just like their mentor. One was Charlie Weiss. The other, was Romeo Crennel.

Hold me Charlie

Both coaches had their fair share of success. Weiss showed immediate results with the Fighting Irish, leading them to a 9-3 record after the team struggled to finish .500 the two seasons prior to him arriving. Notre Dame would lose to USC, their arch rival, on a last-second touchdown in what would be the most lucrative game of Weiss's career. That loss prompted the Notre Dame brass to open up the checkbook and give Weiss an absurd 10-year contract, proving that they were fully confident that Weiss was the man to take them to their first National Championship in nearly two decades.

Crennel struggled in his first two seasons with the Browns, unable to pull them out of the mediocrity that had plagued the franchise for years. But in the 2007 season, the Browns seemingly turned a corner. Behind the strong arm of Derek Anderson and big-play receivers Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, Cleveland shocked the NFL, finished 10-6, just barely missing the playoffs. Crennel was given an extension, and it looked like the Browns would soon be challenging the Steelers for the AFC North division title.

In 2007, Anderson and Edwards were beboppin'
and scattin' and all over the NFL

In both coaches cases, everything fell apart. In Weiss's next season, the Fighting Irish went 10-2, before getting embarrassed by LSU in the Sugar Bowl. After that season, prized quarterback Brady Quinn went to the NFL, and the wheels completely fell off. Weiss went a combined 9-15, and in his four seasons at the helm, now actually has a worst winning percentage (.571) than the two previous coaches that were fired before him (Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie both had .583 percentages).

The free-fall led to calls for Weiss to be removed; a fairly tall order when you consider how much he was making and how many years he had left on his contract. Weiss was able to (barely) keep his job, but it already looks like Weiss isn't cut out for the college game. He's arrogant, unlikable and generally a dick (sorry Charlie). What's even more troubling is that Weiss has always been praised for his high-octane offense, yet that has been one of Notre Dame's biggest problems. The Fighting Irish finished a pedestrian 74th out of 120 Division 1-A teams in total offense this season.

Crennel on the other hand was riding high coming into this season. Talking heads picked Cleveland to unseat Pittsburgh in the division, and ESPN and the NFL were so confident in the Browns ability to draw viewers, that they scheduled them in five prime-time games this year.

As we all found out, the Browns complete and utterly suck this season. Watching Romeo in the Browns' Monday night game against the Eagles, as he stared out onto the field in sad disbelief in what he was seeing, part of me felt bad for the guy. He's just so completely inept as a head coach that it's surprising he has kept his job this long. He's a terrible clock manager and doesn't have a tough enough demeanor to command the respect of an NFL locker room. He has always been praised for his defensive intelligence, yet the Browns D ranks a pitiful 27th out of 32 teams. At this point, Romeo is just counting down the days until his inevitable firing at the end of the year.

It's probably better for Crennel anyway. After he's fired, he'll probably be hired as a defensive coordinator, which is what he is best suited for. Some guys just aren't cut out to be head coach, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Look at Cam Cameron, who went 1-15 as the head coach for the Dolphins last year. This year he is an offensive coordinator for the Ravens, and getting the most out of a rookie quarterback, no-name running backs and zero game-breaking receivers. He has been the best coordinator this year and his team has a chance to make the playoffs.

Cam never could quite get the mannerisms down of a head coach

Weiss's case is absolutely hilarious to me. He actually tricked Notre Dame into paying him a ridiculous amount of money for no real reason. The fact that he got the huge contract after his team LOST the USC game makes the situation even more perplexing. He should have fun next season as Irish fans are loudly questioning his decisions and voicing for his ouster when Notre Dame is 3-3 at the midpoint of the 2009 season.

I hate to admit this but Belichick might have to get even more credit than he already does for the Pats dynasty. It's one thing that both his coordinators have failed miserably. Add in the fact that they've failed at what they know best (offense for Weiss, defense for Crennel) shows they may have been a little overrated all along. Plus, who needs them when you can just cheat, right? (sorry, I had to have one)

While his pupils struggle, Belichick's Patriots have been one of the most consistently good teams in the NFL. The Pats have won AFC East titles and made it to the playoffs the last three seasons. They had a perfect 18-0 record last year before losing in the Super Bowl, and he has New England in position to make the playoffs again with a quarterback that hadn't even started a football game since high school before this season. Interestingly enough, Belichick hasn't won a Super Bowl since 2005, when both Weiss and Crennel left.

Which begs the question: What could've been if Weiss and Crennel never left? Do the Patriots get a couple more rings with Charlie and Romeo still around? Would the Pats offense be even more statistically insane in 2007 than they were with Weiss running the show? Would Crennel be able to get more out of a Pats defense that has gotten progressively older and slower the past few seasons?

We'll never know. All we'll know is that it's clear that Crennel and Weiss were never cut out to be head coaches. In the NFL, coordinators are always looking to move up. You basically just need to have one really good season and you're the hottest name out there. Sometimes it works wonderfully, but sometimes, it might mean you're in over your head.

Next season there's sure to be plenty of coordinators that think their ready to run the show. I just hope that some take a lesson from Charlie and Romeo.

Because just three years ago, they both were at the pinnacle of their coaching careers. Now? Their both punchlines for a Flavors of Lovelace blog post.

How the mighty have fallen.

Photos courtesy of Google Images