Crennel to Notre Dame?

From the outside looking in, it appears Weis has bungled his defensive line assistant coaching hire. Ohio State’s Luke Fickell did take himself out of the running a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been eerily quiet ever since. Yet the one thing you know about Weis is he always has a plan — and a Plan B, C, D, probably Q too. You may not agree or like his plan, but he always has one, if not 27. You could speculate that Weis is waiting to contact a pro assistant coach that is involved in this weekend’s Super Bowl or a college coach who needs to get past Wednesday’s signing day to receive permission to talk. Or maybe, just maybe, Weis is talking to longtime friend Romeo Crennel, the recently deposed head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The 61-year-old Crennel’s 24-40 bottom line with Cleveland is hardly flattering, but the rest of his résumé fits well as a short-term solution. And Crennel, who is slated to undergo hip-replacement surgery in February, has expressed an interest in remaining in the coaching business, even perhaps in some capacity with new Browns coach Eric Mangini. Weis and Crennel coached together in New England, where Crennel served as defensive coordinator and Weis as offensive coordinator. Crennel has five Super Bowl rings and has coached the defensive line with the Patriots, Jets and Giants in the NFL and in the collegiate ranks at Western Kentucky, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss. – South Bend Tribune