Crennel focused on Colts

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Romeo Crennel

Speculation says the Browns coach is skating on thin ice after Sunday’s lackluster performance.

BEREA (AP) — His team a gigantic disappointment and in disarray, Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel walked to the front of the media room and stepped up on the dais.

He then slid into his customary chair.

That seat has never been hotter.

One day after another embarrassing home game, Crennel addressed his shaky future with the Browns, who fell to 4-7 following a 16-6 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Amid speculation that he’s about to lose his job, Crennel insisted on Monday that he’s only concerned about keeping his team from fracturing and preparing them to play the Indianapolis Colts.

At the end of his news conference, Crennel was asked directly if he expects to be fired.

“I don’t worry about it. I can’t control it,” he said. “The thing I can control is whether we win or lose. If we win, that improves my chances. If we don’t, then that hurts my chances.”

Ironically, with the Browns now 1-5 at home, Crennel’s record is 24-35 — the identical mark as his predecessor Butch Davis, who resigned with five games left in the 2004 season.

Before Crennel spoke, Cleveland’s players came to their coach’s defense. They respect the 60-year-old grandfather, who left the field on Sunday with some Browns fans chanting for Bill Cowher, the former Steelers coach and current CBS analyst who may return to the sideline someday.

“The players have to be accountable for everything,” defensive end Shaun Smith said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the coach. The fans can say they want Cowher or whoever it is. It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the players have to make plays. All a coach can do is get you prepared for a game.”

While Crennel appreciated his players’ sentiments, he took blame for the Browns’ collapse following a 10-win season.

“I’m the head coach and the buck stops at my desk,” he said. “It’s my charge. If we don’t win games, it’s on me. We’ve got coaches who work very hard to try to get a good plan, try to put it out there, try to get the guys to execute and when the team doesn’t play well, it falls on the head coach.

“Just like when the offense doesn’t do well, it falls on the quarterback, rightly or wrongly. But this position, the scrutiny goes with it.”

With the Browns, there’s always a lot to examine.

Cleveland’s loss on Sunday concluded another turbulent week for the franchise, which has had more than its share since 1999.

On Thursday, general manager Phil Savage apologized for sending a profane e-mail to a fan following the Browns’ win at Buffalo a few days earlier.

Savage has not spoken publicly about the incident, leaving Crennel to answer questions about his GM’s conduct. That has been the case most of this season with Crennel having to serve as the point man on issues ranging from tight end Kellen Winslow’s hospitalization for a staph infection to the team’s decision to bench quarterback Derek Anderson in favor of Quinn.

Crennel said he and Savage speak on a regular basis and that they’re on the same page as it pertains to the Browns.

“We know where we’re at and we’re 4-7, which is not good enough,” Crennel said. “Going forward from that is we got a game on Sunday that we need to try and win and we got some games after that, that we need to try and win. That becomes the main focus, and if we can win a game on the field then the organization looks better. So that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

Crennel also maintains an open line of communication with Randy Lerner, the Browns’ reclusive owner who has yet to weigh in on his club’s sorry season.

“I’m telling him that this team hasn’t lived up to expectations,” Crennel said. “We’re not as consistent as we need to be. We’re working to try to be what everybody wants us to be, but it hasn’t happened the way we expected it to happen. I told him we were going to keep fighting and we’re going to try to win a game.”