The Houston Texans are going to another page in club history to face the challenges of 2020.
In January, the Texans promoted defensive line coach Anthony Weaver to defensive coordinator and moved Romeo Crennel to associate head coach. The move is identical to what happened in 2017 when the club promoted linebackers coach Mike Vrabel to the job and moved Crennel to assistant head coach.
Crennel, who has been the defensive coordinator for all of the Texans’ playoff wins in the Bill O’Brien era, doesn’t mind giving up the reins to a younger position coach once more.
“Anthony is a smart young man,” Crennel said. “He really is. He’s organized. He’s thoughtful. That’s the thing that I kind of look at. I know that he’s a good football coach because I’ve seen him coach his position. They do very well. He relates to the players and they relate to him.”
Being able to relate to the players is one of Weaver’s greatest attributes and comes from his time under Rex Ryan, former defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens from 2005-08. Though Weaver has a tremendous ability to connect with the players, the next step is getting everyone on the same page to execute the game plan.
“So now, it’s to the point about game planning, putting in a system and then getting the players to buy into that system so that it can be a productive group,” said Crennel. “I see that occurring and taking place and I feel good about what he brings to the table.”
Crennel was the coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2005-08 and also the Kansas City Chiefs from 2011-12, though in an interim role for the last three games of the 2011 season. Nevertheless, Crennel has seen his share of young coaches take greater responsibilities in his 39 seasons in the NFL.
“So, so we’ll find out,” said Crennel. “That’s the thing about football, you get a chance to find out how things work. I think with what I’ve seen so far, I think that he’ll do a very good job.”
