My Fellow Browns fans,

Over the past few weeks, there has been a growing sentiment within this fanbase to see Coach Crennel fired and replaced by former Steelers' coach Bill Cowher. This pro-Cowher movement is not only detrimental to the team, but it is degrading to our organization and needs to stop now.

There are two sides to this fundamentally flawed idea: Cowher must come and Romeo must go. In order to fully address the matter, I will attempt to explain the flawed logic running through both sides of the argument.

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Romeo Must Go

As with any underachieving team, the head coach is the first person considered in the evaluation process. The 3-6 Browns failed to live up to this year's lofty expectations, and Crennel Bears the brunt of the responsibility for that. The NFL is all about production, and it's hard to justify retaining a coach who has been unsuccessful in 3 of the last 4 years. Despite what statistics and percentages say, they undoubtedly fail to tell the whole story about Romeo Crennel.

Romeo Crennel is a great head coach. His players believe in him and he has proven capable in getting the most out of this group. Fans have criticized Crennel for lacking passion and a "fiery disposition." If the Browns can remain as competitive as they have in recent weeks, I'll gladly take Crennel's stoic approach to any other coaches' method of motivation.
 
Along with Crennel's consistent approach, what the Cleveland Browns need at this critical stage of their development is continuity. With a promising young quarterback accompanied by a talented young defense, it becomes necessary to maintain the same group of coaches together to expediate growth at all positions. Changing schemes is taxing - especially on young players struggling to learn the system. By keeping the head coach in place, the Browns would subsequently keep their assistent and position coaches in place - maintaining the continuity so vital to the development of young talent.

Cowher Must Come

My appeal is one of pride and respect. Bringing in a coach who is the embodiment of all things Pittsburgh is the absolute last thing you want to see for the Cleveland Browns. How would it look on our organization if we turn to our most hated rival to become the face of this franchise? Additionally, how much pride would Browns' have in their team seeing Cowher schmooze it up with Steelers any time the two teams play?

Contrary to most, I have pride in this history and tradition of the Browns' franchise. The way Cowher came to be what he is was through years as the head coach in Pittsburgh. Coaches and players have had time to fine-tune their technique and knowledge within a system, and that is what made the Steelers into what they are today. For the Browns, it is necessary to have that same level of stability to keep this franchise heading in the right direction.

There are ramifications of Cowher coming to Cleveland. Offensive coach Rob Chudzinski is one of the most highly regarded young offensive minds in the NFL. Last year Chudzinski interviewed and turned down an offer from Baltimore to take over as head coach. With at least 4 coaching openings in the National Football League, it would put a tremendous amount of strain on Chudzinski - who certainly would be able to find a situation to his liking. Retaining Crennel would likely keep Chudzinski with the Browns - as the situation would be similar to what kept him here in the first place.

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A plane uses 70% of its fuel while taking off.  After years lying in a dormant state, the runway has cleared and this team is finally ready to take flight. It took a long time to get here, so why stop the plane and change pilots now ? The system is in place. The talent is there. The coaches are ready. All the Browns need to do is maintain their composure, finish the rest of this season, and get ready for an exciting ride in 2009.

It's true, Romeo Crennel is a great NFL head coach.

Based on what I have seen and heard about him, I couldn't be happier to have such a man of high character represent the Cleveland Browns. Romeo's leadership, interpersonal skills, and positive attitude are the perfect fit for a team who hasn't been able to sustain success since the late 1980's.

When evaluating a head coach, it is necessary to break his job down in terms of his different tasks. Probably the biggest task an NFL coach faces is personnel management. Benching, cutting, motivating, encouraging, and believing in the people around you is the most important responsibility a head coach has. If a strong relationship cannot be formed between coach and player, all else is lost. Since trust is the basis of any relationship, it is no coincidence that is the one trait all successful coaches share.

Generally speaking, there are two different ways head coaches earn trust. Guys like Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick and the great Vince Lombardi used intimidation as well as their knowledge of the game to garner their players' respect. Andy Reid, Dick Vermeil, Marty Schottenheimer, and Tony Dungy took a more compassionate route - gaining trust through loyalty, kindness, and honesty. Both coaching philosophies are equally effective as evident by the coaches' success, so one way isn't strictly better than the other.

Crennel obviously falls under the latter - as he is the quintessential "players coach". With Romeo Crennel, there's always a positive side to everything. If you listen closely when he speaks, rarely will you find a trace of negativity regarding his subordinates and this team. Rarely will you hear him say the Browns lost a game. Instead, "the team was unable to win." A player never does a bad job. There are simply "things that he needs to improve on."

Such positive thinking is crucial for the Cleveland Browns, which ultimately makes Crennel the right man for the job. Even with the lofty preseason expectations, there were still just as many negative football analysts predicting failure upon the team - and rightfully so. Winning is all that matters in this league, and quite frankly the Browns have not done much of that over the past 15 years. This dryspell of success makes it difficult for people around the league to respect the team - and that eventually trickles down to the players and the fanbase.

Coach Crennel's presence helps to change some of that.

Thanks in large part to his success in New England and New York, Crennel has the resume to back up his personable demeanor. This credibility lends itself well to players buying into the system and in turn encourages them to give maximum effort on every play. For whatever reason, Cleveland Browns fans are incapable of believing in Crennel despite the fact that every GM and player in close contact him him has only good things to say. The cause of this undoubtedly stems from the small sample most Browns fans have to see coach Crennel.

And sometimes that sample is not pretty.

Crennel's critics point to his gametime decision making and seemingly undisciplined football team as evidence of his incompetence. The Browns have committed 37 penalties this season, trailing only the Carolina Panthers as the most penalized team in football. Part of that falls on the head coach and the rest falls on the players. The fact is, Romeo isn't out there moving early on false starts. He's not out there on defense lining up in the neutral zone. Crennel and his coaching staff can only do so much, and it's up to the players to avoid the mental mistakes that have plagued this team thus far.

The conservative game management is a part of his style. Questionable timeout and in-game management decisions have become his M.O., and have drawn the ire of this particular gentledawg. The only thing we can do as Browns fans is hope management corrects these problems and learns from them in the future.

Romeo Crennel is with fault. The problems he has are correctable and I have faith they will only make him better.

Crennel's steadfast resolve and affable nature anchor a young and upcoming football team. Under his steady hand, the Cleveland Browns have direction - and are on the right course. The troubles plaguing our team will eventually correct themselves over the season - and this ship will finally be able to set sail.

Destination? The playoffs.