Parcells

by Bill Parcells

  The Parcells family—Bill and Judy with daughters Suzy, Jill, and Dallas—outside their new home in Lubbock, Texas, after Bill joined Texas Tech in 1975 as linebackers coach. During his college coaching career, Bill, who once described Lubbock as being “in the middle of nowhere,” would move the family every two years or so for a new job. Courtesy of Judy Parcells

  Air Force head coach Bill Parcells with his father, Charles, and brother, Don, at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium, September 16, 1978. The pair would watch Air Force defeat Boston College, 18–7, but the Falcons lost their next five games to finish 3–8. Parcells quit after only one season, accepting Ray Perkins’s offer to oversee Big Blue’s linebackers. Courtesy of Bill Parcells

  Two or Bill Parcells’s favorite players of all time, linebacker Harry Carson (#53) and defensive end George Martin (#75), at their final regular-season appearance in Giants Stadium, December 11, 1988, versus Kansas City. The co-captains announced their NFL retirement after combining for twenty-seven years with Big Blue. Carson, who would make the Hall of Fame in 2006, wears jeans because of an injury. Harry Hamburg, New York Daily News

  Danny Astrella, one of Bill Parcells’s closest friends, with the Giants head coach during a rare break at training camp, July 12, 1985. The pair had grown up together in Hasbrouck Heights, two of the biggest boys in the neighborhood. When Parcells was in elementary school after just moving to town, his sandlot fight with Danny taught him the benefits of being confrontational. Courtesy of Bill Parcells

  Football royalty: Giants leader Bill Parcells whispers to Steelers legend Chuck Noll, the owner of four Lombardi Trophies, before the 1985 regular-season finale at Giants Stadium. Noll was among several top football minds whom the young Giants head coach would seek out for pointers. Harry Hamburg, New York Daily News Archive, Getty Images

  Short shorts: Three future Hall of Famers chat during Giants training camp in August 1986, many years before the popularity of baggy shorts. Lawrence Taylor stands between head coach Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator Bill Belichick. Jerry Pinkus

  Archrivals Bill Walsh and Bill Parcells side by side during pregame activities at Giants Stadium on October 5, 1987. On Monday Night Football, Walsh’s 49ers would defeat Parcells’s Giants 41–21. Their high-profile rivalry produced some of the NFL’s most memorable games, occasionally leading to Super Bowl titles. By 2006, roughly three-fourths of NFL head coaches were linked to one man or the other. Michael Zagaris, Getty Images

  Parcells strategizes with starting quarterback Phil Simms (#11) during an October 22, 1989, game at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium. Simms’s powerful arm had guided the Giants to Super Bowl XXI, and reserve quarterback Jeff Hostetler (in the background) often felt like an outsider. Nonetheless, when Simms suffered a season-ending injury on December 15, 1990, versus Buffalo, Hostetler got the starter’s job. The West Virginia product helped Parcells capture his second Lombardi Trophy by completing 20 of 32 passes against Marv Levy’s Bills, concluding the playoffs without an interception. Ron Vesely, Getty Images

  In snowy conditions with windchill temperatures of 21 degrees at Mile High Stadium, on December 10, 1989, Parcells guided Big Blue to a 14–7 victory over Denver. During a sit-down with Woody Hayes in early 1978, the Ohio State legend told the then rookie head coach of Air Force, “If you’re gonna play in the Atlantic, you gotta train in the Atlantic!” Several years later, when Parcells joined forces with Giants GM George Young, the pair targeted athletes capable of excelling in inclement weather. John Leyba, Denver Post, Getty Images

  Bill Parcells and L.T. celebrate after Big Blue won its regular-season finale at home, in subzero temperatures, over the Los Angeles Raiders, 34–17, Christmas Eve 1989. The 12-4 Giants clinched the NFC East and a home playoff appearance. However, in the opening round of the postseason, a different L.A. team, the Rams, would stun Big Blue, 19–13, in overtime. Ray Stubblebine, AP

  Mickey Corcoran (left) was much more than Parcells’s high school basketball coach, acting “like a second father,” Parcells recalls, and teaching the future legend many lessons he had received as a prep hoopster under Vince Lombardi from 1939 to 1941. Corcoran helped Parcells land a football scholarship at Wichita State and a coaching job at Army. While gaining NFL glory, Parcells constantly kept his mentor close by, whether on the sidelines, at practice, or as a seatmate on plane rides to road games. Courtesy of Mickey Corcoran

  Bill Parcells gets a lift from his linebackers Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks (#58), and Pepper Johnson (behind the Tuna) following their Super Bowl XXV triumph over Marv Levy’s Bills at Tampa Stadium, January 27, 1991. Unable to shake hands with Levy amid the celebration, Parcells waves at him. Parcells’s legacy-securing ride would become a defining moment, replayed countless times. Steve Yarnell (far left) worked security for the event. Mike Powell, Getty Images Sport Classic

  Looking like a championship couple, Parcells and wife Judy pose with the Lombardi Trophy on January 28, 1991, the day after the Giants’ victory in Super Bowl XXV. Courtesy of Judy Parcells

  Patriots head coach Bill Parcells with Tom Coughlin, the new boss of the Jacksonville Jaguars, on July 25, 1994. After a strong recommendation from Parcells in January 1994, Coughlin was named head coach and GM of the expansion franchise. But with Jacksonville one year away from operating, Coughlin spent substantial time observing Patriots practices in Smithfield, Rhode Island. When Coughlin previously guided Boston College, Parcells sometimes attended his disciple’s practices in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Jim Davis, Boston Globe, Getty Images

  Patriots leader Bill Parcells and Browns head coach Bill Belichick at Cleveland Stadium before their teams clash in the opening round of the playoffs, New Year’s Day 1995. Little Bill had grown closer to Big Bill after leaving the Giants for the Browns in 1991, suddenly sharing more in common with his mentor. In the only postseason contest between the longtime comrades, Belichick’s team would prevail, 20–13, as Drew Bledsoe tossed three interceptions against Nick Saban’s top-ranked defense. Parcells recalls, “In some respects, I thought I was playing myself defensively.” John Iacono, Sports Illustrated, Getty Images

  Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Parcells talk during a morning practice on July 22, 1996, in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Kraft had purchased the franchise from James Orthwein in 1994, but Parcells bristled at the new ways of doing things, which diluted the sweeping powers he’d been given under the previous owner. Irreconcilable differences with Kraft would prompt Parcells to leave for the Jets in early 1997 despite having guided New England to Super Bowl XXX. Tom Landers, Boston Globe, Getty Images

  Bill Parcells and Jets owner Leon Hess at the team’s headquarters in Hempstead, New York, on February 11, 1997. The reclusive oil baron made one of his rare appearances to introduce Parcells as head coach and director of football operations. The latter title granted the Big Tuna final say in all football decisions, unlike in New England, where he had complained about being unable to “shop for the groceries.” Hess told the media: “He’s going to run the show, and it’s not going to be two or three cooks in the kitchen. It will be just him.” Kathy Willens, AP

  Keyshawn Johnson, the top overall pick of the 1996 draft, with his new head coach during a 1997 Jets practice. Pundits had predicted that the headstrong, loudmouth wideout would clash with the authoritarian, no-nonsense leader. Instead, Johnson would turn into one of Parcells’s favorite players and people. The six-four, 212-pounder embraced Parcells’s instruction to be a “great giraffe” instead of a “gazelle”—to use his size and strength rather than try to emulate speedy, smallish wideouts. AP

  Jets chief Bill Parcells and Vinny Testaverde during an introductory press conference in Clifton, New Jersey, on June 24, 1998. Gang Green signed the bazooka-armed thirty-four-year-old after releasing Neil O’Donnell, who’d refused to renegotiate his contract. Parcells told the media that although the Jets planned on giving Glenn Foley “the benefit of the doubt” as their starter, Testaverde would get a shot at
the role. Parcells considers Testaverde, who’d been waived by Baltimore, one of the best pure passers he’s ever seen. Mike Derer, AP

  Bill Parcells leads his cocksure, charged-up players, including center Kevin Mawae (#68) and special-teams ace Corwin Brown (#44), at the Meadowlands for their 1998 regular-season finale on December 27. Gang Green would trounce Pete Carroll’s Patriots, 31–10, concluding a historic year highlighted by the franchise’s first-ever division title. Only a couple of seasons removed from ignominy, the Jets took most of their club-record twelve victories by at least a touchdown, and strutted into the playoffs. Thomas E. Franklin, Bergen Record

  Jets defensive coordinator Bill Belichick instructs outside linebacker Bryan Cox during an October 17, 1999, victory over Indianapolis at Giants Stadium. Head coach Bill Parcells stands close by. The two football gurus, with disparate personalities, have a mutually beneficial but complicated relationship. As part of a succession plan, Belichick was elevated to Jets head coach on January 3, 2000, but quit the next day, citing the uncertainty created by Leon Hess’s recent death as one of the reasons. But after spending 14 of the previous 19 seasons under Big Bill, Little Bill seemed to want to escape his mentor’s shadow. John T. Greilick, AP

  Bill Parcells walks atop the storied Cowboys logo at San Antonio’s Alamodome on August 5, 2003. Bob Rosato, Sports Illustrated, Getty Images

  Bill Parcells barking instructions next to acolyte Sean Payton during a Cowboys game. Among his numerous lessons on leadership and football, Parcells taught his play caller about the benefits of confrontation. Starting in 2006, Payton would use Parcells’s methods to rejuvenate the New Orleans Saints in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and capture the 2010 Super Bowl. USA Today Sports Images

  Cowboys wideout Keyshawn Johnson enjoys a light moment at training camp in Oxnard, California, on August 3, 2005. Parcells had acquired Johnson before the 2004 season in a trade that sent wideout Joey Galloway to Tampa Bay. Jerry Jones switched training camp from San Antonio, Texas, to the coastal city thirty-five miles west of Los Angeles. Parcells favored a balmy climate to reduce the risks of dehydration and allow more repetitions as his athletes played themselves into shape. Tony Gutierrez, AP

  All smiles among Bill Parcells’s dearest: Bobby Green (far left), one of his closest friends; Mickey Corcoran, his lifelong mentor; and girlfriend Kelly Mandart at a Saratoga Springs restaurant in 2006. Courtesy of Bobby Green

  Bill Parcells and his boss, Jerry Jones, on July 29, 2006, the opening day of training camp. During their four-year partnership, the larger-than-life characters with outsized egos enjoyed defying predictions about an inevitable clash. Matt Slocum, AP

  Bill Parcells at his introductory press conference as the Miami Dolphins’ executive vice president of football operations, December 27, 2007, in Davie, Florida. Hired by Wayne Huizenga, Parcells quit in the summer of 2010, twenty-one months after real-estate magnate Stephen Ross became majority owner. Despite Miami’s 20-16 record under his watch, the Big Tuna faced criticism for an inability to land a franchise quarterback or meet his goal of putting a structure in place led by GM Jeff Ireland and head coach Tony Sparano. Joe Rimkus Jr., Miami Herald, MCT, Getty Images

  Curtis Martin and Bill Parcells flank a bust of Boy Wonder at the Hall of Fame on August 4, 2012. The former Patriots and Jets tailback felt bittersweet on February 4, 2012, when he learned the news about his election into the Hall, because Parcells had failed to make the final cut. Martin explained, “There’s God and there’s Parcells as far as the impact they’ve had on my career.” The pair had fantasized about being enshrined as part of the same class. Gene J. Puskar, AP

  Two “enemies” embrace and share laughs at the Hall of Fame ceremonies on August 2, 2013, in Canton, Ohio. Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells sat at the same table during the Ray Nitschke Memorial Luncheon and spoke more to each other that day than they had done in decades as NFC East rivals: Parcells’s Giants and Gibbs’s Redskins underwent epic clashes that determined championships and legacies. Parcells explains, “You learn to respect your enemies but execute all traitors, and that’s how I felt about Joe. I always held him in high regard.” Ben Liebenberg, AP

  Bill Parcells grins while posing with his stern-faced bust during his Hall of Fame induction on August 3, 2013. Parcells entered football’s most exclusive organization on his fourth bid for enshrinement. Despite his credentials, the polarizing figure had generated the most discussion among voters. The Class of 2013 was one of the strongest in recent memory, including offensive lineman Larry Allen, wideout Cris Carter, offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, and defensive lineman Warren Sapp. Rodger Mallison, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, MCT, Getty Images

  Ex-Giants defensive lineman George Martin poses with Bill Parcells shortly after helping unveil his bust as only the twenty-second coach inducted into the Hall of Fame. Parcells chose his former co-captain to present him largely because of Martin’s career-saving support, especially during a pivotal 1984 season. Jason Miller, Getty Images

  Bill Parcells and Lawrence Taylor at Fawcett Stadium on August 3, 2013, before the Big Tuna’s enshrinement. Early in his induction speech, Parcells would express the desire for his bust to be placed near L.T.’s sculptured portrayal “so I can keep an eye on that sucker.” USA Today Sports Images

  The only men to have captured Lombardi Trophies as Giants head coaches—Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin, each of whom won two Super Bowl titles—stand next to their glistening prizes on June 10, 2014, at team headquarters in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Parcells dislikes comparing his disciples but concedes that Coughlin is the most similar to him. The Giants wideouts coach from 1988 to 1990 describes Parcells as the person who taught him far more about football than anyone else: “The best.” Evan Pinkus, AP

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  When Parcells arrived home in Norfolk, Massachusetts, after the game, his mind raced too rapidly for sleep. Obsessed with facing the powerful Packers at the Louisiana Superdome, Parcells drove back to the stadium, entering his office around 3 a.m. He watched game film for a couple of hours before disrupting the sleep of some friends by telephoning them to chitchat. One of them, Lawrence Taylor, retired since 1994, told Parcells that viewing the AFC Championship on TV had caused knots in his stomach just as if he were still a player. Parcells was touched by Taylor’s empathy, knowing the ex-linebacker rarely watched NFL games.

  Parcells finished his early-morning conversations by 6 a.m. and began preparing for a 9:30 a.m. address to his players. He wanted them to focus on football instead of the inherent nuttiness of a Super Bowl week, with its ticket requests and family members making the trip to New Orleans. To minimize distractions Parcells planned on urging his players to lean on Kraft and the organization to handle any logistics.

  The Patriots had enough to worry about going against Mike Holmgren’s Packers, the league’s most complete team. MVP Brett Favre quarterbacked the NFL’s highest-scoring offense, the only unit ranked ahead of New England’s. Green Bay’s defense, led by sack-master Reggie White, was also formidable, having allowed the fewest points in the NFL. For much of the 1980s both teams had been considered laughingstocks. Green Bay’s tide started to turn in 1992 with the arrival of Holmgren and Favre. One year later New England’s fortunes shifted similarly when Parcells joined the Patriots and drafted Bledsoe. For this Super Bowl, though, they were 14-point underdogs.

  On January 13, 1997, one day after the AFC Championship, Jim Fassel checked into the Sheraton Meadowlands near Giants Stadium, awaiting word from George Young on whether he was going to be Dan Reeves’s replacement. New England’s Super Bowl appearance meant that if the Giants wanted to hire Parcells, they needed to delay discussions for at least another two weeks, while his contract situation played out. Co-owners Wellington Mara and Robert Tisch hadn’t yet green-lighted Young’s recommendation of Fassel, a strong indication that Parcells remained a possibility.

  At Giants headquarters George Young discreetly called his lieutenant, Ernie Accorsi, into his office
before shutting the door. Young had been planning to retire after one more season, ending an eighteen-year tenure with Big Blue that included being named executive of the year more times than anyone in league history. But the GM had no interest in spending his final season with Parcells, possibly with reduced authority. Young told Accorsi, “Look, I’m going down to Wellington right now to tell him that if they hire Parcells, I quit. I’m sure you’ll be my replacement.”

  The remarks surprised Accorsi, since he knew Parcells and Young shared the same football philosophy. The assistant GM was aware of his boss’s beef with Parcells after the 1987 Super Bowl, but Young, who characteristically played things close to the vest, had never ripped Parcells to Accorsi. Instead, the GM had been friendly with Parcells the few times that they had interacted after his Giants departure. Young’s plan to present the team’s owners with an ultimatum exposed his innermost feelings.

  He never got a chance to act on his plan. Soon after the closed-door conversation with Accorsi, John Mara entered the GM’s office to inform him that Tisch had nixed the idea of hiring Parcells. Relieved by this turn of events, Young responded, “In that case, Fassel is really the best guy out there. Can I offer him the job?”

  Mara’s reply was less than enthusiastic. “Okay, go ahead.”

  Young rushed out of his office to head to the Sheraton Meadowlands, but in a roller coaster of events, five minutes later Robert Tisch telephoned the Maras to reverse his veto. He had decided to be open to signing the legendary taskmaster given that the alternative was someone without any NFL head-coaching experience. “If you want to hire Parcells, go ahead,” Tisch said.