Condi is a Browns fan? Whoa Nelly!
Posted on 02/19/2005 9:18:42 AM PST by E Rocc
Washington - As if new Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel isn't feeling enough pressure to revive the hapless franchise, he now has Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice counting on him.
At a Black History Month celebration in Washington on Friday, Rice looked in Crennel's direction and declared to the crowd, he "is going to bring my Cleveland Browns back."
"I would say that's a little pressure," Crennel admitted later.
Rice, who keeps a Browns helmet in her office, has been a fan since childhood, when she used to watch games with her dad in Birmingham, Ala.
That was back in the days of Jim Brown and Paul Brown, and the Browns were the team they saw most often on television.
Crennel knows a little about pressure. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator in their 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Now he must turn around a team that has had just one winning season since returning to Cleveland in 1999.
But it wasn't all about football Friday.
Crennel, dressed in an olive green suit with a Super Bowl ring on his right hand, and Rice shared the State Department spotlight with Bernard LaFayette, director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island, and Dorothy Height, chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women.
Crennel was introduced as the first black head coach hired by the Browns (Terry Robiskie was an interim head coach) and only the ninth hired in the NFL. He acknowledged his place in coaching history and the opportunity his new job in Cleveland presents.
"If I'm successful, it'll open doors for some of you people," he told the crowd, which was largely State Department employees and students.
He stressed the importance of education and a strong family atmosphere. "Don't accept mediocrity," he said, "always reach higher."
Crennel's oversized Super Bowl ring also drew plenty of attention. Some guests took pictures of it.
Winning five championships as an assistant coach was nice, Crennel said, but he wants more.
"Now, I'm looking to get a Super Bowl as a head coach," he said.
-Eric
I used to love Condi, but now...ugghhhh...
Just kidding Cleveland, the NFL wasn't the same without you. Good luck with the new coach, but I still think Butch Davis could have turned it around if he had another 4 or 5 years.
Baloney. Crennel ain't exactly Jackie Robinson.
Blacks are already "successful" with respect to Head Coaching.
Must race be a factor of opinion in everything?
Condi is a Browns fan? Whoa Nelly!
"Must race be a factor of opinion in everything?"
No, of course not. But I still want to see my favorite coach Tony Dungy go all the way. The Pats really shut them down this year. I was very disappointed.
"Shut down" completely. It was shocking.
There is NO way the Colt offense shouldn't score at least one TD.
Credit the Pat defensive coaches (Crennel, etal), and knock the offensive coaches of the Colts, whomever they are.
"Credit the Pat defensive coaches (Crennel, etal)..."
Well that bodes well for Ms. Rice and the other Cleveland fans. But I heard it was Bill Belechick, he's like a freaking genius.
Dungy was always more of a defensive guy, obviously their "O" still needs work.
Can't wait for next season, already!
Maybe Condi can tell Romeo where we're gonna find some linebackers for his 3-4 defense. Heard anything about moving Courtney Brown to LB?
Now . . look out here we come -- right back back where we started from . . .!
I thought Marion Motley wore #76.
Condi is a Browns fan? Whoa Nelly!Yep, she even visited training camp during the past season. Not when the Prez was there either, later in the year.
-Eric
You guys are talking the old AAFC numbers - when the Browns moved to the NFL in '50, they went with the NFL numbering system.
Okay. Now it begins to make sense.
I didn't know the AAFC and the NFL had different numbering systems. That explains why Otto Graham went from a funny looking #60 as quarterback to a more "normal" #14.
Slightly off-Condi question: To which league did the Cleveland Rams belong?
The Cleveland Rams were the 1945 NFL champs and then they moved to L.A. for the '46 season. And then, one of the last perfect things to happen in Cleveland sports: the Browns joined the NFL in '50 and beat the Rams on Christmas Day for the championship that same year. It just can't get much better than that! (although '64 came close)
That I didn't know. Even better that my Browns slapped them in 1950 for leaving. ;-)
You've been an historian today, Chi-town. Thanx.
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