Back when they were coordinators in New England, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel were at the pinnacle of their professions. They had success, Super Bowl rings, and suitors.

Those suitors lured them out of New England, where wins once came with the regularity that criticism now does.

Weis went on to Notre Dame, where he signed a 10-year contract extension that once seemed like it would last as long as the good times.

Crennel moved on to Cleveland, where he landed an extension that looked as if he would be with the Browns as long as Weis was with Notre Dame.

Now, the two men, Bill Belichick‘s former trusted assistants, are getting the same treatment. They are being questioned, scrutinized, second-guessed. The people that hired them have wandering eyes. They look at the hot coaches that Weis and Crennel once were. And Weis’ and Crennel’s eyes are sharp enough to see what’s coming.

Each is getting ready to be shown the door. Back in January 2005, after New England beat Philadelphia in Super Bowl XXXIX, Belichick, Weis and Crennel shared an embrace they knew would be their last. Weis and Crennel were ready to leave the cozy confines of New England for the greener pastures of the Midwest.

But interestingly, Weis and Crennel each have uncovered the same lesson at the same time. Their salaries might be greener, but the grass isn’t.

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