CRENNEL ASSUMES HE’LL BE BACK, AS SAVAGE THROWS HIM UNDER THE BUS

Browns coach Romeo Crennel on Wednesday named Brady Quinn the team’s starting quarterback for 2009. Of course, the guy who ends up coaching the Browns in 2009 might not appreciate that. We’re kidding, sort of. But for the same reason that it’s too early to presume that someone else will be coaching the Browns next season, it’s also too early for Crennel to assume he’ll be back. Unless, of course, he’s trying to get fired. If so, he’s doing a far better job in that regard than he’s done coaching the team. G.M. Phil Savage apparently would agree. Savage shifted blame for the team’s lackluster 2008 performance to Crennel during Savage’s most recent weekly radio appearance. ''Hey, my responsibility is the 53-man roster, and then it’s Romeo and the rest of the coaching staff’s decision how to utilize the 45 players that are dressed on Sunday,” Savage said. “Who starts. Who plays. When they’re gonna play. How they’re gonna be utilized. ''If I’m going to get involved in those decisions, then I may as well put a headset on and double my salary.’' It’s a common theme for all too many dysfunctional NFL franchises. When the coaching staff and the front office have different standards of accountability, they’ll naturally look to blame each other when things go bad. And so, as we’ve previously explained on numerous occasions, the coach and the G.M. should be joined at the hip. Both should stay, or both should go. In the Browns’ case, both should go.