Former Browns head coach Romeo Crennel won't coach in 2009, according to the Boston Globe.

In a story by Mike Reiss, Crennel said he wants to spend 2009 getting healthy following February hip surgery.

By the end of his coaching career in Cleveland, in which he went 24-40, it was easy to dislike Crennel. The Browns were at times very terrible. Make sure to check out that story to understand why, regardless of how poor he did in Cleveland, Crennel remains a likable person.

The Browns just released the following statements.

First, from former general manager Phil Savage:

“I would like to thank Randy Lerner for giving me the opportunity to work for the Cleveland Browns over these past four seasons. Things did not go as well as we had expected, particularly in 2008, however, I do anticipate this team bouncing back and having success in the future.”

And from Romeo Crennel:

“I would like to thank Randy Lerner for giving me the opportunity to coach the Cleveland Browns. Some progress was made in my four years here, but not enough to go forward in this position. The support from the community and the fans has been greatly appreciated. Though this past year has been tough, my experience in Cleveland has been a good one. I did not win enough games so I must move on. Thank you for the opportunity.”

- Allentown Morning Call (Larry O'Rourke): Ex-Eagle Fraley thankful for his years in Philadelphia

- Akron Beacon Journal (Marla Ridenour): Andra Davis content right where he is

- Elyria Chronicle-Telegram (Scott Petrak): Past their prime (time): Browns don’t give national TV audience much reason to care

- Philadelphia Inquirer (Phil Sheridan): Eagles lucky Browns play role of patsy

- Philadelphia Inquirer (Bob Ford): The old McNabb is back

- Plain Dealer (Mary Kay Cabot): McDonald's thefts are Browns' lone highlights

- Plain Dealer (Terry Pluto): For forlorn Browns fans, all that's left is a slow, sad march to the finish

- What I'm saying today: Absolutely pathetic. Forget the score. Forget the poor play. Romeo Crennel, in some fashion, is sabotaging part of the future of the Cleveland Browns. Because he is too stubborn, the Browns are not giving more playing to Martin Rucker, Beau Bell, Ahtyba Rubin or Alex Hall. What exactly are the Browns playing for, if not the future? Pride? That was gone long ago. Regardless of whether or not the Browns had someone who could be interim coach, Crennel should have been fired several weeks ago. Instead, the fans get to watch (and pay for) some of the worst football I've ever seen the last two weeks.

Oh, one other thing. The play of Brandon McDonald last night will look good on the stat sheet and probably be overlooked. He was terrible, outside of that first interception. The second one only came because it was tipped. Other than that, he was routinely beaten last night and missed tackles.

On the prospects of Joshua Cribbs seeing time at quarterback, here is what Derek Anderson had to say:

"We're not putting Josh in. You guys [must be] on crack, smoking crack. [Just] because we're playing bad doesn't mean we're going to put a receiver at quarterback."

Well, that was certainly an odd thing to say. First, Cribbs maybe shouldn't be considered a receiver at all. He only has two catches this year. He's just a football player.

Second, those crackhead reporters should pass the rock to Rob Chudzinski and Romeo Crennel then. What else do the Browns have to lose? More games? That's going to happen anyway. A reputation? That's gone already.

Maybe with Cribbs at quarterback, the fans have something to have fun with. Or the team could find a gadget play to use next year with Cribbs at quarterback. Because, let's face it, when Cribbs has been lining up at quarterback in Wildcat formations, it hasn't really worked.

In other news, it's cold outside. I mostly just wanted to forget about today's game. So, here is this story.

Among the notes in it, the Browns could be looking at a Schottenheimer. But could it be young Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets' offensive coordinator? Boy, I hope not. Here is who the article lists as a possible Crennel replacement:

Among the names topping a possible candidate list: Bill Cowher, Marty Scottenheimer, and coordinators like the Jets' Brian Schottenheimer, the Giants' Steve Spagnuolo, the Titans' Jim Schwartz, the Falcons' Mike Mularkey and the Ravens' Rex Ryan.

Ply your bets in the comments on who you think will be the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

For about the last 24 hours or so, when word of Kellen Winslow's suspension leaked out, I've been trying to think about what to write.

Is it Winslow's fault? Is it Romeo Crennel's fault? Is it Phil Savage's fault?

At first, I blamed it on Savage, considering he couldn't spare a few minutes to give one of his stars a call while he was in the hospital. (And apparently doesn't do it with other players)

Then, I blamed Winslow. He needed to more callous with the entire situation and not spout off to the media.

Earlier today, I was blaming Crennel for not telling the team. From AP:

Despite a disturbing number of staph cases in recent years, the Browns did not inform their other players that tight end Kellen Winslow was hospitalized with a staph infection earlier this month.

One day after the Browns suspended the Pro Bowl tight end for one game without pay for comments and behavior disparaging to the organization, coach Romeo Crennel said the team kept Winslow's illness private after reaching an agreement with him not to disclose his medical condition.

"He was in the hospital and it was a personal issue," Crennel said Wednesday in explaining the team's decision to keep Winslow's illness from his teammates.

Patrick McManamon has a very good recap of the whole scenario on his blog. Since he gets paid to do it, he's much better at this conjecture than I am, so check it out.

Now that this thing has basically run its course, I'm back to blaming Savage. Take away the blabbing to the media aspect of the situation, and it's incredibly hard to fault Winslow. Is anything he had to say incorrect? If he was just complaining about the team playing bad, would he be suspended?

Most people are convinced he's only doing this because he's upset about his contract situation. Others think he was suspended because the Browns don't want him.

I don't believe either.

To me, this is just a situation of "Kellen being Kellen" and the Browns holding him on a short leash due to his attitude and the motorcycle incident.

Still, Savage could have remedied the situation just by giving Winslow a call in the hospital and being up front with the media about the situation. Problem solved.

Instead, as McManamon wrote today, Winslow's days in Cleveland are numbered. And that's sad. He's a heck of a lot of fun to watch and plays the game the right way.

Notes…
Indeed, there is more going on with a 2-4 team than a staph infection situation. Such as…

Wait, actually there isn't. Check back in tomorrow because I'll have some thoughts on what I want to see in Sunday's game. Please note, it will include nothing about Kellen Winslow!

On Sunday, I'll be live-blogging the game, so stop in and say hello.

Since the Browns lost to Dallas and Pittsburgh to begin the season, man fans have angrily been calling for the firing of head coach Romeo Crennel and the benching of starting quarterback Derek Anderson.

So, with having two weeks to prepare for Monday night's game against the Giants, should Crennel be gone if the Browns drop to 1-4? If Anderson continues to complete less than 50 percent of his passes and throws more interceptions than touchdowns, does he automatically get benched?

During the Browns' week off, that is all I've been able to think about with the team. Not how Ryan Tucker will probably play his first game of the season. Or how Browns cornerbacks will do against Plaxico Burress, who is probably motivated after coming off suspension. I haven't even thought about how the somewhat sluggish offensive line is going to stop the renowned New York pass rush.

Nope. It's been whether or not we'll be seeing the last of Crennel and Anderson this season. This may not necessarily a rub off of the loser mentality most Cleveland sports fans have, but it sure seems like it.

Notes…
Patrick McManamon checks in with his weekly 1st and 10. Always a solid, quick read.

McManamon also had a really good column today on penalties in the NFL and how it relates to the Browns.

Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository gives this season a kick in the pants, and I don't mean the back side.

Hey, by the time I wrote that all out, I had a new thought about the Browns! They were losing 30-3 in the second quarter of the preseason game against the Giants. Oof.

Coach Romeo Crennel had little problem calling what wide receiver Braylon Edwards is enduring currently a slump.  He's more concerned, however, with getting Edwards' problems corrected. Right now the wideout has five receptions for 46 yards.  Gee, think those fantasy football wonks who have him on their rosters are a bit miffed?  You betcha.

It’s always troubling when a player goes through times like he is going through, when he is dropping balls that we need him to catch. We are trying to do everything we can to help get him out of his slump. A lot of times as a receiver, focus on the ball is one of the things. We have got numbers on the ball and we’ve got colors on the ball to try to improve his focus so he can relax and make some of those plays that we saw him make last year.

Crennel also recognizes that in order for the Browns to succeed offensively, the team has to be able to run and throw the ball.  They've not looked particularly good doing either as their massive 8 points per game average shows, thus far.  You could argue that it all begins with the running game, but more often than not, this team passed the ball to set up the run last year.  No consistency in the passing game equals no consistency in the run game.

I think that this team is a better offensive team when we can have balance, when we can run the ball and throw play-action passes and drop back and throw the ball. Once a team becomes one-dimensional, then the defense can load up on it. Our ability to be balanced helps the offense. As the game progresses and things happen, you adjust and adapt to what you feel at that time and you go with it, Crennel said.

- Browns Coach Romeo Crennel has always struck me like a bear in appearance and demeanor.   With respect to the latter, he only growls when necessary and in private.  But that hibernation-like demeanor kind of leaves me wondering whether he can ultimately hang on to the confidence of his players.

Take today's press conference for instance:

"We are trying to get ready to play the game we have on Sunday night. It’s a big game for us because we lost the last one and we need a win and it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers who are right down the road. We haven’t done very well against those guys since we have been here so I think that adds more importance to it. It’s going to be critical that we play good. We have to play good to have a chance because they are a pretty good team as you saw last week and what they were able to get done. Our guys will accept the challenge and step up. We are going to work and we are going to fight and we will see what happens. "

The words don't exactly inspire.  Then again, it's the media so he doesn't have to inspire us.

But even the casual observer of the Browns-Steelers rivalry have to raise an eyebrow when it comes to this statement Crennel made about the longstanding feud:

“I can’t speak for before I was here, but since I have been here they have been able to beat us and basically play better. Even when it looked like we had a chance we haven’t been able to finish. We are going to have to see if we can get off to a good start and then see if we can finish a game."

Again, not inspiring.  However, I will give Crennel credit for cutting to the chase on one issue: team defense.  Maybe the so-so way in which he delivers his message is coming from a coach who knows that didn't get everything worked out in the pre-season.  While the offense can claim some legitimate near misses on several plays. The defense was never close with the Dallas Cowboys being able to run and pass at will.  Realistically, the Cowboys should have scored more than 40 points and Crennel knows it.

“I don’t think you can say anybody played well. Shaun (Rogers) was able to get some push in the pocket in the second half a little bit, but when you give up almost 500 yards of offense there’s not much that can look good.”

It looks as if running back Jamal Lewis is going to give it a go against the Dallas Cowboys this afternoon.

Here's a rundown of the team's inactives:

Ken Dorsey (emergency QB)

Josh Cribbs

Brodney Pool

Kris Griffin

Rex Hadnot

Ryan Tucker

Martin Rucker

Missing Tucker and Hadnot is especially troublesome because it affects the right side of the line, which is likely where the the Cowboys would attack the Browns passing game.  With those two out, McKinney will have to bring his A-game and will need as much help as the Browns can spare, including leaving a back in for pass protection.