Romeo Crennel To Be Fired, Pioli Retained…For Now
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Black Monday is underway in the NFL but for those fans hoping for a total house cleaning in Kansas City, today could be especially dark.
ESPN is reporting that Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel will be fired today but that GM Scott Pioli will be retained…for now. Whatever that means.
"The Kansas City Chiefs will fire coach Romeo Crennel on Monday, but not general manager Scott Pioli, at least not now, according to league sources."
If this report is true, it indicates that at the very least, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has yet to make up his mind on Pioli.
If that is the case, Hunt is a fool. He has had the entire, miserable season to make up his mind about the job Pioli has done. He could have come out in support of Pioli weeks ago. Instead, he has remained silent while his team’s fan base complained very loudly for Pioli’s head.
Hunt needs to be decisive now. Dragging his heels will only serve to put the GM, whether that GM is Pioli or someone else, behind the rest of the league in the impending hiring frenzy. At the very least, the Chiefs will likely need a new coach and GM will need to move quickly so that KC has its pick of the litter.
On a side note, if Hunt does retain Pioli, I am guessing he can expect a lot of empty seats at Arrowhead Stadium next season. Short of some earth-shatteringly exciting personnel moves, I find it hard to believe a mobilized fan base that has been calling for change for months will view Pioli being kept as anything other than a slap in the face.