BEREA — As the minutes passed and Romeo Crennel wasn’t behind the microphone for his scheduled news conference, the speculation swirled.
Was Crennel in an upstairs office getting fired? Had the 16-6 loss Sunday to the Texans sealed his fate with five weeks left in the season? Had the frustrated fans finally gotten their wish?
No, no and no.
At least, not yet.
Crennel was still the Browns coach Monday. For how long, remains to be seen.
“My future is that I’m coaching for the next game,” said Crennel, who was an hour late because meetings ran long.
Does he think he’s going to get fired?
“I don’t worry about it,” he said. “I can’t control it. The thing I can control is whether we win or lose. If we win, that improves my chances. If we don’t, then that hurts my chances.”
Owner Randy Lerner and general manager Phil Savage have been largely silent on Crennel’s job security, and Savage didn’t return a message Monday seeking comment.
Crennel is 4-7 this year, 24-35 in three-plus years and his contract runs through 2011 after signing a two-year contract extension in the offseason. If Crennel and his coaching staff were fired, Lerner would owe about $20 million total to Crennel and offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski over the next three years.
“I’m the head coach and the buck stops at my desk,” Crennel said. “If we don’t win games, it’s on me. We’ve got coaches who work very hard to try to get a good plan, try to get the guys to execute and when the team doesn’t play well, it falls on the head coach.”
Besides the losses, Crennel has faced questions about the team’s effort. After a loss to Denver on No. 6, running back Jamal Lewis said the team had quit. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said Sunday the team was flat for a third consecutive home loss that effectively extinguished the final remaining hopes of playoff contention.
Crennel disagrees. He said the team keeps playing hard, just not well.
He was asked what he tells Lerner about the season.
“I’m telling him that this team hasn’t lived up to expectations,” Crennel said. “We’re not as consistent as we need to be. We’re working to try to be what everybody wants us to be, but it hasn’t happened the way we expected it to happen. I told him we were going to keep fighting and we’re going to try to win a game.”
Whether the team is playing hard might not matter anymore. Crennel has failed to field a playoff team in four years, has just one winning season (10-6 last year) and is 0-7 against Pittsburgh and 2-5 against Cincinnati. Coaches are always judged on the record.
How’s this for a coincidence? Butch Davis, Crennel’s predecessor, was 24-35 when he resigned under fire in 2004. He was ripped by players for quitting on them.
Crennel has received nothing but love from the locker room. Even as the reality of a lost season set in Sunday and Monday, the players voiced their support for Crennel.
“Romeo’s a great coach,” center Hank Fraley said Monday. “I have a good relationship with him, and guys around the locker room do.
“I don’t think he’s losing us as players. We’re not executing for him. It’s disappointing we’re not performing for him. It’s all of our faults.”
While Crennel will likely be the fall guy — Savage could join him — there is plenty of blame to go around. Running back Jamal Lewis and others have criticized the play calling of Chudzinski, the offensive Pro Bowlers from last year have disappointed and Savage mishandled disagreements with Kellen Winslow (a rescinded suspension) and a fan (a profane e-mail).
“For the coach to have to take the fall for an organization so big is, in my opinion, wrong,” special teamer Joshua Cribbs said. “To blame all of that on Coach Romeo is not the answer.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to fight for Romeo,” safety Sean Jones said.
The players’ support isn’t going to stop the cries of the fans. They’re fed up with the losing — 54-102 since 1999 — and have never been fond of Crennel. They want action, and former Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
A pro-Cowher sign was in the stadium Sunday, as were “Cowher” chants. Rumors continue to circulate about Lerner’s possible interest in him.
Cowher, who played and was an assistant for the Browns, is in his second year working on CBS’ pregame show.
“I do enjoy (TV) more than I expected,” Cowher told USA Today. “I don’t anticipate (coaching), to be honest. I’m really very, very heavily leaning into not going back to coaching.”
Defensive end Shaun Smith heard the calls for Cowher.
“I wish the fans could walk in Romeo’s shoes and understand everything that’s really going on and the severity of everything, because it’s not his fault,” he said.
Crennel didn’t shy away from the responsibility or the blame. He was late for the news conference because he spent extra time formulating a rescue plan.
“We’re trying to figure out what we can do to get our players to play better,” he said. “Sometimes when it’s going bad, it’s bad.
“If we can win a game on the field, then the organization looks better. I’m going to try to keep this team together and we’re going to keep fighting and we’re not going to give up and we’re going to play it until the end.”
And he might be here to see it.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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