He was 24-40 in four seasons as head coach of the Browns and more importantly, 0-8 against the Steelers. Which means that your next NFL head coach to win an extended vacation is Romeo Crennel.
Although Crennel's departure was expected, Cleveland owner Randy Lerner waited until the end of the season to announce it, and in fact broke the news this morning at 9:50 a.m., ET, which means that technically Crennel was fired before the Jets' Eric Mangini or the Lions' Rod Marinelli. So many new candidates for Al Davis to choose from.
This of course comes shortly after the Browns fired general manager Phil Savage, which we hope was not done via email.
According to AP, the Browns have asked Bill Cowher if he were interested in the job, but Cowher said no thanks.
Lerner said Monday morning he had spoken with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who has been working as a studio analyst for CBS since stepping down following the 2006 season. But Cowher told him he would not return to coaching in 2009.
Fun Romeo Crennel facts: Played football at Ft. Knox High School in Kentucky (go Eagles!), and also set the land speed record for NFL head coaching job interviews, with five in less than 36 hours in 2003. The teams that turned him down were the New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons.
Browns Continue Housecleaning, Fire Crennel [NBCSports]
Cleveland Browns Fire Romeo Crennel [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Browns Make It Official: GM Phil Savage Is Fired [Cleveland Plain Dealer]