It was just a few days ago that Romeo Crennel came out and said that he wants to be a head coach again somewhere. So when it was announced that he would be the interim head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs AND that he wanted a crack at the big desk again, it's not surprising that he has found himself at the front of the line for the vacant head coaching position heading into next season.
It's not a stretch to say that Scott Pioli has a lot of pressure on this next hire to be the right one as his job is on the line too. It doesn't seem plausible that Pioli would go with an "outside the box" type of coach that he has no ties with because there is so much riding on this hire. So it's more than likely that Crennel will get the head coaching job for the Kansas City Chiefs. The familiarity with Crennel and the players is huge for a team that despite struggling this season, isn't in the position to have to completely rebuild. If they were to bring in an outside voice there would be an adjustment period for everyone to get used to one another and while it could work, it's just another positive if Crennel is going to be the guy moving forward that they won't have to do this.
But as Crennel prepares for his first game as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs it's important that he stays the same guy. The fastest way to lose a team in this position is to all of the sudden be a completely different person and change the way you've carried yourself since arriving two years ago. Obviously he'll have more responsibilities as a head coach and will address the entire team more than he had as defensive coordinator. But some of those offensive players that he might not have had day-to-day dealings with before will all of the sudden get to see and hear a lot more of Romeo Crennel.
Romeo Crennel obviously knows the X's and O's of the game, but being a head coach in the NFL is much more than that and it's these other things that will determine his potential future as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. These players will remember how Crennel handled himself when he was given the job that he came out and flat-out said that he wanted.
What message did Crennel send the Chiefs' players when he came out and plainly said, "I want to be a head coach again"? The players know he wants to be the one to lead them. It's a good start for Crennel and getting the players to believe in him as a head coach, not just a defensive coordinator, is his responsibility over the next three weeks. It's not about the game plan or in-game adjustments, although it's important, it's about how he carries himself when he's 'the man'. He's got the football knowledge down, now it's about motivating people and handling ego's. It's about establishing principles and expectations and holding all players to these same ideals. How he handles the rest of the coaching staff will be evaluated over the next three weeks. Is he delegating responsibilities and organizing the staff effectively?
I personally believe that it's these things that will be used to evaluate Crennel as head coach heading into next season. Not what is happening on the field that all fans can see, it's the things that fans can't see that will be most important.