As expected, the Kansas City Chiefs are firing head coach Romeo Crennel but not firing General Manager Scott Pioli today.
We noted on Sunday that the talk in league circles was that Crennel was gone but Pioli was not, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday morning that that’s exactly the situation in Kansas City: The Chiefs will announce today that Crennel is out, but they won’t fire Pioli, at least not yet.
The Chiefs earned the first overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft with this year’s 2-14 record, so Crennel’s firing is no surprise. The big question facing Chiefs owner Clark Hunt is whether he wants to entrust Pioli with the decision of how to use that first overall pick, which will go a long way toward shaping the Chiefs’ rebuilding effort.
Crennel has had some success as an NFL defensive coordinator, but his head coaching record is 28-55. At age 65, this was surely Crennel’s last chance to be a head coach in the NFL. The 47-year-old Pioli may not be done just yet.