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Longtime NFL coach Romeo Crennel announces retirement

Longtime football coach Romeo Crennel retired from the Houston Texans and NFL on Monday at 74 years old.

He announced the decision via a statement from the Texans, with whom he'd worked since 2014 in various roles including defensive coordinator, assistant head coach and interim head coach.

"Football has been my entire life and it's been a dream come true to coach for 50 years," Crennel said in the statement before thanking his family and the teams he's worked with. ... "I'll miss everything about coaching and teaching, but the thing I'll miss the most is being around the guys every day. My goal was to put every player and coach in the best position to succeed and I consider every guy I coached or worked with a part of my family."

Romeo Crennel has retired from football. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Romeo Crennel has retired from football. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Crennel had worked as a football coach since 1970 and in the NFL since 1981. He started his coaching career in 1970 as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky, where he played four seasons mostly on the defensive line. After stints as an assistant at WKU, Texas Tech, Mississippi and Georgia Tech, he joined the New York Giants as an assistant in 1981.

He ultimately coached the Giants defensive line and remained in the NFL for the remainder of his coaching career in various roles, including head coach and defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, before joining the Texans in 2014. He was a head coach with the Browns from 2005-08 and with the Chiefs in 2012.

Crennel took over as interim head coach for the Texans in 2020 after the team fired Bill O'Brien. He transitioned to senior advisor for football performance in 2021 when the Texans hired David Culley as head coach.

A longtime collaborator with Bill Belichick, Crennel retires with five Super Bowl rings — two with the Giants and three with the Patriots.