The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday that Romeo Crennel has been relieved of his duties as head coach.
Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt also apologized for the team’s performance, saying he is “embarrassed by the poor product” they gave fans.
The announcement came on “Black Monday,” the day after the final games of the season, when numerous teams conduct front-office personnel changes.
The Chiefs lost 38-3 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday to end their season at 2-14.
Crennel, 65, was named Kansas City’s 12th head coach in franchise history on Jan. 9, 2012. He compiled a 2-14 regular season record in 2012 and finished the 2011 season 2-1 as the club’s interim head coach.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Romeo, both personally and professionally,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in a team announcement. “He is an accomplished coach, a man of great character and he helped guide our football team through some extremely challenging circumstances this season.
“However, I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction. I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Chiefs. The entire football operation will remain under review, and there may be additional changes to come. No final determination has been made at this point on the future of General Manager Scott Pioli.
“Finally, I want to personally apologize to our fans for our performance this season. We are blessed to play for some of the best and most passionate fans in the National Football League and they deserve better than what we gave them this season. I want our fans to know that I will do everything I can to provide them with a dramatically better team – both next season and in the seasons to come – and our entire organization appreciates their support.”