At a time when the team was privately pretending that it was inclined to extend the contract of coach Romeo Crennel, the Browns gave their three-year head coach a two-year extension, putting him under contract through the 2011 season.

Per Todd Porter of the Canton Repository, there’s an “agreement in principle” on a two-year extension. 

The extension is for one less year than Crennel’s agent, Joe Linta, initially wanted.  Linta also wanted $5 million per year; per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the contract pays Crennel in the range of $4 million per year.

We’re still not sure why the Browns felt compelled to get the deal done, especially when they were putting the word out that they didn’t intend to do so.  Crennel had no leverage.  Maybe, in the end, they decided that they merely want to keep him happy as the critical phases of the offseason approach.

And maybe it was, in the end, an effort by G.M. Phil Savage to create the same kind of partnership that Pats coach Bill Belichick and V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli enjoy.

“Scott will always watch Bill’s back and that’s their greatest strength,” Savage told Porter.  “They’re on the same page. . . .  That’s what we’re trying to get with Romeo and myself.  We’re trying to build a partnership.”