The New Orleans Saints are interested in former Kansas City Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel as a candidate to replace fired defensive coordinatorSteve Spagnuolo, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday and later confirmed by ProFootballTalk.
Crennel has not had much success as a head coach, but he's repeatedly proven himself an elite coordinator. He won three world championships with the New England Patriots and his work with the Chiefs' defense earned him a promotion when Todd Haley was fired in 2011.
Eric Mangini also is reportedly up for the job, but a source told PFT that Crennel is the preferred choice.
Saints coach Sean Payton needs someone to get the defense back on track after a horrid effort in 2012 resulted in the No. 31-ranked scoring defense and No. 32 total defense. Crennel fits in nicely and, as one of the most-respected men in the NFL, he'd be a strong addition from a public relations standpoint in the post-Bounty scandal era.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
