[Kansas City.com] The 11-day break given to the Chiefs by the NFL’s schedule-makers afforded head coach Romeo Crennel some time to think about what he could do to get his team out of its messy predicament.

By the time the Chiefs regrouped Monday to begin preparations for their Nov. 12 game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, he’d come up with a couple of significant tactics. First, Crennel relinquished his defensive coordinator duties, handing them over to linebackers coach Gary Gibbs.

The Chiefs also released starting cornerback Stanford Routt, who was one of their major offseason free-agent acquisitions. They also signed veteran defensive tackle Shaun Smith, who played for the Chiefs in 2010.

In relinquishing the defensive coordinator duties, Crennel said he was trying to eliminate the perception that he’s spending too much time on that side of the ball and ignoring the offense.

“I will continue to be in meetings sometimes,” Crennel said. “I will meet with Gary on a regular basis as well as I do with (offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and special teams coach Tom McMahon) to know what the game plan is and what’s going on there. But I’m going to spent more time with the whole team and less time with the defense.”

Gibbs is a veteran defensive coach who was head coach at Oklahoma for six seasons and also coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from 2006 through 2008. The defense is unlikely to change much because of the switch.