Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells, nicknamed "The Big Tuna", is a retired NFL head coach, last coaching the Dallas Cowboys. Parcells owns two Super Bowl rings with wins in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV. He announced his third retirement from football on January 22, 2007.
Parcells played high school football at River Dell Regional High School in Bergen County, New Jersey. He was a linebacker at the University of Wichita (now Wichita State). His assistant coaching jobs at the collegiate level were Hastings (1964), Wichita State (1965), Army (1966-69), Florida State (1970-72), Vanderbilt (1973-74), and Texas Tech (1975-77). He was the head coach at Air Force (1978).
In 1979, Parcells joined the New York Giants as the defensive coordinator under Ray Perkins. In 1980, he left to join the New England Patriots as the linebackers coach under Ron Erhardt for one year before returning to the Giants as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. When Perkins announced on December 15, 1982 that he was leaving the Giants at the end of the season to become head coach at the University of Alabama, the Giants announced that Parcells would succeed him as head coach.
When Parcells took over in 1983, the New York Giants were a team that had posted just one winning season in the previous ten years. In his first year, he made a controversial decision to bench Phil Simms in favor of Scott Brunner.
After this dismal first season, Parcells made Simms the starter again. The team's record improved to 9-7 and 10-6 over the next two years, and earned them their first back-to-back play-off appearances since 1961-1963. In 1986, he led the Giants to the first of two Super Bowls. In the 1986 season, the Giants compiled a franchise best 14-2 record and the first of three division titles. Parcells, whose stifling 3-4 defense (known as Big Blue) led by Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Harry Carson, and Leonard Marshall, and an offense under the direction of Phil Simms, knocked off the San Francisco 49ers 49-3, and the Washington Redskins 17-0, in the playoffs before routing the Denver Broncos, 39-20, in Super Bowl XXI.
Parcells led the Giants to a second Super Bowl in 1990. The Giants began the 1990 season 10?0, and finished 13-3, but lost Simms to injury late in the season. Playing with a back-up quarterback in Jeff Hostetler and a 33-year-old veteran running back in Ottis Anderson, the Giants overcame the Chicago Bears in the divisional playoff, 31-3, and won in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion over San Francisco, 15-13, in the NFC Championship on a last-second 41-yard field goal by Matt Bahr which was set-up by a turnover caused by the formidable Big Blue defense. Super Bowl XXV proved equally exciting as the Giants used tough defense, and a ball-control and power-running Erhardt - Perkins style offense to stop the Buffalo Bills, 20-19, whose own last-second 47-yard field goal attempt by Scott Norwood missed wide right. This was considered to be Parcells' greatest victory, since the Giants were overcoming injuries and the Bills were considered to be nearly unstoppable that year. Parcells retired from football after Super Bowl XXV due to health problems. During his tenure, the Giants had secured three division titles (1986, 1989, 1990), had only two losing seasons (the Giants went 6-9 during the strike year of 1987) and tallied an 8-3 playoff record.
Following retirement, Parcells spent time as a football analyst for NBC Sports from 1991-1992, working as a studio commentator. He also hosted a local sports show in New York with Mike Francesa entitled Around the NFL.
After a two-year hiatus, Parcells returned to the NFL in 1993 as the head coach for the New England Patriots. Within two years, Parcells coached the team to a 10-6 record and its first playoff game in eight years. In 1996, he guided the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI but lost to the Green Bay Packers, 35-21, in New Orleans.
Parcells left the Patriots after disagreements with owner Robert Kraft; Parcells felt he did not have enough input into player personnel decisions. Upon his departure, Parcells stated: "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries." This was mainly in reference to an incident in the Patriots' war room during the 1996 Draft where Parcells, who wanted to draft a defensive player with their first-round choice, was vetoed by Kraft, and the Patriots selected Ohio State WR Terry Glenn.
Although Parcells had decided to leave New England, his contract did not allow him to coach anywhere else. The New York Jets sought Parcells to take over their football operation after a 4-28 record under Rich Kotite. To circumvent Parcells' contractual obligations, the Jets hired Bill Belichick (then the #1 assistant to Parcells) as the Jets coach, and Bill Parcells was hired by the Jets in an "advisory" role. New England threatened legal action against Parcells and the Jets, but NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue brokered a deal between the two sides, with New England releasing Parcells from his contract and the Jets giving New England a first round draft choice.
Parcells instrumented a remarkable turnaround in his first year with the Jets. In his first season with the Jets, the team barely missed the playoffs with a record of 9-7. In 1998, the Jets went to the playoffs with a 12-4 record but lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
In 1999, expectations were high for the Jets to go to the Super Bowl. However, quarterback Vinny Testaverde ruptured his achilles tendon in the Jets home opener and the season went downhill from there. After starting the season 1-6, the Jets won 3 straight and faced the Indianapolis Colts. Parcells emphasized the importance of not obtaining a "7th loss" but they did lose to the Colts and then to the New York Giants the following week. At 4-8, the Jets were in danger of finishing below .500. Remarkably, the Jets would finish 8-8, but out of the playoffs. In 1999, Bill Parcells retired from football for the second time, vowing that he would not coach again. He remained with the Jets one more year as general manager.
Following three straight 5-11 seasons, Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones lured Bill Parcells out of retirement and made him the head coach in 2003. In his first season with the Cowboys, he led them to the playoffs with a 10-6 record (losing to the eventual NFC Champion Carolina Panthers in the opening round), thus making him the first head coach in NFL history to guide four different teams to the playoffs. Parcells would finish his Dallas stint with a mediocre 34-32 record and zero playoff wins.
The 2004 season was one of turmoil. Starting quarterback Quincy Carter was terminated for alleged drug use in favor of 40-year-old veteran Vinny Testaverde, who had been brought to the Cowboys from the New York Jets by his former coach in the off-season. While a favorite of Coach Parcells, Testaverde proved ineffective as a starter. The Cowboys started strong, with victories against the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins, but injuries, older personnel, spotty play calling, and persistent penalties hobbled the Cowboys, and they quickly fell off to a 3-5 record by midseason, finishing the season a dismal 6-10.
The Cowboys improved their defense before the 2005 season with the additions of first round draft picks Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears. Parcells drafted these players in hopes of jumpstarting the team's transition from the traditional 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense, which Parcells had run in all of his previous stops. Jerry Jones also added a number of high-priced older veteran players, acquiring nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency, and linebacker Scott Fujita via the Kansas City Chiefs. On offense, the Cowboys felt the need to upgrade their passing game to complement their top 2004 draft pick, running back Julius Jones, and acquired quarterback Drew Bledsoe via free agency. During his tenure, Parcells made a point of signing players who had played for him in the past, including Bledsoe and Terry Glenn (with the Patriots), and cornerback Aaron Glenn, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and fullback Richie Anderson with the Jets. In 2005, the Cowboys went 9-7, missing the playoffs by one game.