I can’t say I’m surprised by any of these moves.

will be the DC in Tampa, according to reports of a couple days ago.

I think you were right when you said he did look a little lost as the head coach. It just seemed it was a little too much for him to handle. However, no one can deny his excellent defensive coaching when he had the time to devote to it and that was his sole responsibility.

I’d love to see Crennel as our DC because I don’t think he will be offered a head coaching position anywhere else and he doesn’t seem college material. I’m not sure Slowik is the answer for us so far as a D.C. goes. I know a lot of our problems were talent related and we have criticized Shanny for flying through D.C.s but this year was pretty rough – I know we are hurting for the proper talent but I still don’t agree with how the defense was schemed this year. Slowik should definitely stay with the organization but I think that the D.C. was a little much for him.

The downside to bringing in Crennel is that he does have the Belichek (sp) mentality and the defense would be ‘his way’; which doesn’t seem like Shanny really has a problem doing that. The only problem with ‘his way’ is that its very different from our current defense so there would be extensive revamping – next year may not be a dynamite year for us defensively either.

I wouldn’t mind bringing him in but he should have very limited personnel decisions.

and we don’t have the personnel to run the 3-4….

Most folks are agreed that we need Woodyard out on the field and that we lack certain personnel to run a 3-4, most notably a NT. Get one, 1st pick. Raji is a nasty, strong, 2 gap fellow. From fftoolbox.com:

The 6-1, 323 pound defensive tackle has been a dominating run stopper and a tough match-up for any Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
Despite his size, Raji is deceptively quick. His first step is very impressive and then he will use his strength to simply run over the opposing lineman. Raji does just about everything well that one would hope from a defensive tackle. His positioning and instincts are solid and combined with his athleticism and strength, Raji pretty much has it all.

I know that DL personnel need to season, so we might as well start now.

I’m disconcerted at the number of Broncos players who were strongly behind Slowik at the beginning of the season and have commented much as Ekuban did about just carrying out the coaches decisions. If it was just one guy, fine, but I’ve noted it from several this year. That’s a bad carry-over for next season. I’ve been a proponent of some coaching stability, but at this point, maybe not. The players have lost confidence in the coach. Romeo is an option, certainly. Someone has to let us blitz, give safety support and develop a scheme that the players are behind.

It might take a couple of years to build this defense, but as I say, start now. Just a thought.

since according to a Youtube video, a very powerful figure in the
Browns front office was not happy.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz8zYC55pMs

I have felt for a long time that Shanahan is the problem with the defense. Clearly, he knows what he wants to do on offense, but he takes whatever defense his coordinator wants. He needs to choose a defense and hire coaches and draft/acquire players for the system. We can’t keep rebuilding the defensive side of the ball every year or two.
We also need a more aggressive approach to special teams-a la Bud Grant’s kick blocking special teams. Either Crennel or Marinelli would be good choices to implement a Shanahan defense as DC-especially Marinelli.

rod is the only 4-3 DC out there. They need to find the next Mike Tomlin or Leslie Frazier type who is on the cusp of being great. (We need a scout to find a DC, kidn)

Jets: I find it totally funny that you pull of a trade to get Favre only to get knocked out of the playoffs by the QB you let go. Talk about irony.

Lions: Well if you can’t win one game in sixteen tries, then you can expect to be fired.

Browns: I honestly think this is a long time coming.

The Robinson led Broncos defense played superb during the 1998 playoff run. The Broncos defense held the Miami Dolphins scoreless in the divisional playoffs, allowed only a touchdown as a result of a fumble on the one yard line against the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game, and then allowed a single touchdown to the Atlanta Falcons in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl after the outcome was secure.

Look forward to it, too.