"He's a great person, he'll get that whole building energised again and that's what they need. I hope he's successful there."
Thursday 8 October 2020 11:02, UK
Former NFL coach Rob Ryan believes Romeo Crennel can re-energise the Houston Texans as he takes the reins following the dismissal of head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien.
O'Brien was relieved of his duties after seven seasons on Monday after Sunday's defeat to the Minnesota Vikings saw Houston slip to 0-4.
Though the call arrived early in the campaign, it was one that came with little surprise. O'Brien had been facing mounting pressure in the wake of some divisive off-field decisions as general manager, namely the decision to trade away star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins as well as giving up valuable first-round picks in the trade that brought offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to the organisation.
"When coaches get let go early in the season or before they're actually allowed to serve out the year, I think it stinks," said Ryan on NFL Overtime. "It stinks for everybody.
"They're the ones that promoted him to general manager. Trust me, he wasn't in there fighting to get that job. If anything he should have been fired from that job. He's a good football coach. This happens to a lot of good football coaches."
Crennel has 50 years of coaching experience behind him, with two of his five Super Bowl wins coming during his time working alongside Ryan with the New England Patriots.
The 73-year-old, who has been with the Texans since 2014, will take charge until the end of the season as he looks to spark a revival, starting against the 1-3 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
"I love him and he'll do a great job," added Ryan. "It is interesting that the next team they play is Jacksonville, so they've got a chance to win.
"We were in the same situation last year in Washington. We let Jay Gruden, a really good football coach, go and replaced him with Bill Callahan and we were getting ready to play Miami, who hadn't won a game. So we was like 'we better beat these guys!'.
"Romeo can get the thing turned around but I hate to see any coach fired this early in the year, but that's part of the business."
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has become a familiar feature to talk surrounding head coach vacancies across the NFL thanks to his influence alongside Tom Brady in Foxborough over the years.
He is likely to be among the candidates linked with succeeding O'Brien in the long-term, although Ryan isn't convinced that the Texans await as his ideal landing spot.
McDaniels hasn't served as a head coach since his year with the Denver Broncos between 2009-2010 and made a last-minute U-turn on his decision to take charge of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018.
"I don't really see him taking that job," admitted Ryan. "They don't have any first-round picks next year, they gave them up for Tunsil.
"Josh is going to get the pick of the litter. Whatever is the best job out there will attract Josh but I'm not so sure he'll take this. Not that the Texans isn't a good job, they all are, and he's got Deshaun Watson who is a terrific quarterback.
"But I just think, they can give Romeo a chance. If they can turn this thing around with Romeo getting it turned around, he can fix that defense himself."
The Texans are currently fifth-worst on scoring defense, last against the run and have zero turnovers so far this season, with Anthony Weaver still finding his feet in his first year as defensive coordinator.
"Romeo can help him," said Ryan. "Romeo has been a great defensive coordinator, he was the No 1 defensive coordinator in the league, they had the No 1 defense in football in Houston when Romeo was there.
"He's a great person, he'll get that whole building energised again and that's what they need. I hope he's successful there.
"I'm sure the job will be attractive to a lot of coaches. I'm sure there are coaches sitting on the sofa that will want the job."
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