Parcells heading into 65th birthday working hard
Posted: August 20, 2006
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas -- Bill Parcells hits retirement age Tuesday. If he takes any time to celebrate, it'll come after he figures out what his team did wrong in a preseason game the previous night.
A few years ago, even Parcells would have laughed at the idea he'd be studying game film on his 65th birthday. Having already walked away from coaching twice and passing on other jobs, he seemed content to get on with his life and savor his legacy as a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Then the Big Tuna came back for one last shot at glory with the Dallas Cowboys.
The countdown to his next retirement started ticking the day he agreed to work for Jerry Jones. Hardly anyone expected him to fulfill his four-year deal. Even those who did figured that would be it.
Yet Parcells has made it to Year 4. And he's signed an extension through 2007.
"He's not entirely mentally healthy, which makes him want to keep doing this and beating himself up," joked quarterback Drew Bledsoe, clearly savoring the chance to jab back at the coach who is going into a sixth year of jabbing him. "But I am happy for him. He can go to the movies cheaper and get senior citizen rates at the restaurants. It will be good for him."
Parcells could be taking advantage of those benefits. Or he could be spending more afternoons at the racetrack and nights watching pals Bob Knight and Tony LaRussa run their teams.
Instead, Parcells keeps going, energized by the realization this is likely the final chapter of his career.
"This is my life's work," Parcells said at the start of his 19th NFL training camp as a head coach, his 23rd overall in the league and 38th as some sort of football coach, dating to his first job: defensive assistant at Hastings College in 1964.
"This is something I have enjoyed, for the most part," Parcells said. "I have been fortunate -- one, to have the opportunity and, two, the longevity is not a common thing in the NFL."
Health drove him from his first head coaching job, with the New York Giants. It was there that he carved his reputation as a defensive-minded task master. His two championships certainly helped.
After two years of talking about football on television, he returned to coach New England. He got the Patriots to the Super Bowl in an entirely different way, letting Bledsoe set all sorts of passing records.
A split with management that produced his most famous quote -- "If they want you to cook the dinner, they at least ought to let you buy the groceries" -- resulted in him becoming coach and chief football operating officer of the Jets. Another turnaround followed, with New York reaching the conference championship.
He eventually handed the coaching job to Bill Belichick, but his longtime assistant walked away. Parcells stuck around for a year in the front office, then went back to television. It seemed as though he'd be there for good, too, especially after turning down Tampa Bay (which won the Super Bowl the next season without him) and other chances to get back into coaching.
Then Jones called and offered him Tom Landry's old job, challenging him to make the Cowboys "America's Team" once again.
An old-school guy if there ever was one, Parcells liked the idea -- even if it was coming from the man who fired Landry and couldn't coexist with Jimmy Johnson after a pair of Super Bowl victories.
But with the Cowboys coming off three straight 5-11 seasons, Parcells knew he could leave the club better than he found it. The money wasn't bad either, especially for a guy coming off a costly divorce.
Parcells teased fans by going 10-6 and making the playoffs his first season. The Cowboys have gone 6-10 and 9-7 since, missing the playoffs both times. It's only the second time in his career he's missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The other time, he had a players strike as an excuse.
Counting the loss in his only playoff game, Parcells is 25-24 in Dallas. That's not good for someone who says, "I'm too old to lose."
"He's always saying it, too," linebacker Bradie James said. "At minicamp, he said it's never taken him this long to win, so we kind of took that to heart."
While Parcells has seen Belichick pass him in number of Super Bowl titles, some things have worked out in Dallas, such as his relationship with Jones and Jones' son, Stephen.
Parcells has remained loyal to all decisions made by their three-man committee, including the signing of Terrell Owens. If there's been any friction between the big-ego bosses, insiders are doing a great job of covering it up.
Parcells also has taken to his players, especially the young ones. He often mentions the joy he gets of watching rising stars like cornerback Terence Newman, linebacker DeMarcus Ware, safety Roy Williams and tight end Jason Witten improve through his prodding, er, guidance.
"I think at age 50 or so I wondered, "Hey, Parcells, is this all you're going to do in life?"' Parcells said. "Once you get through that, which I am definitely through, you get to where you know chronologically you are close to the end (and) it gets a little bit more precious to you. ... Each game. Each season. It sounds a little corny, but really that's the way it is for me."
Don't get the wrong impression, though. Calling it a career is still on his mind.
He thought about it after each of the last two seasons. In January, he factored in the way Dallas crashed from potential No. 1 seed to playoff outsider over the final month and his brother's recent death.
"You don't want to be doing things when you are kind of in any emotional state, so I just asked Jerry for a couple of days to think it over," Parcells said.
He decided he owed it to Jones to keep trying. A raise and an extra year on his contract certainly sweetened the pro side of his pro-con chart, although Jones and Parcells both insist the extension was the owner's idea.
"I told him he didn't have to do it," Parcells said.
Before gearing up for this season, Parcells spent about 10 days playing golf and pondering life with Carolina offensive coordinator Dan Henning, a friend for nearly 40 years. Although Parcells easily won their annual competition of who takes the most pills every morning, Henning said Parcells came across as healthy and happy.
"We always mention to one another, 'How much longer do you think you'll do this?' Well, if we knew that, we'd be swami," Henning said. "But we certainly don't want to do it if things aren't comfortable. I feel comfortable here and I think he feels that way there."
Parcells recently said he'll retire once "results dictate that or you don't have the energy to do it." As of now, neither is true.
But here's one more thing to consider: Because Parcells was born in 1941, he's actually not eligible for full Social Security benefits until he's 65 years and eight months.
So check back in April.
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas -- Bill Parcells hits retirement age Tuesday. If he takes any time to celebrate, it'll come after he figures out what his team did wrong in a preseason game the previous night.
A few years ago, even Parcells would have laughed at the idea he'd be studying game film on his 65th birthday. Having already walked away from coaching twice and passing on other jobs, he seemed content to get on with his life and savor his legacy as a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Then the Big Tuna came back for one last shot at glory with the Dallas Cowboys.
The countdown to his next retirement started ticking the day he agreed to work for Jerry Jones. Hardly anyone expected him to fulfill his four-year deal. Even those who did figured that would be it.
Yet Parcells has made it to Year 4. And he's signed an extension through 2007.
"He's not entirely mentally healthy, which makes him want to keep doing this and beating himself up," joked quarterback Drew Bledsoe, clearly savoring the chance to jab back at the coach who is going into a sixth year of jabbing him. "But I am happy for him. He can go to the movies cheaper and get senior citizen rates at the restaurants. It will be good for him."
Parcells could be taking advantage of those benefits. Or he could be spending more afternoons at the racetrack and nights watching pals Bob Knight and Tony LaRussa run their teams.
Instead, Parcells keeps going, energized by the realization this is likely the final chapter of his career.
"This is my life's work," Parcells said at the start of his 19th NFL training camp as a head coach, his 23rd overall in the league and 38th as some sort of football coach, dating to his first job: defensive assistant at Hastings College in 1964.
"This is something I have enjoyed, for the most part," Parcells said. "I have been fortunate -- one, to have the opportunity and, two, the longevity is not a common thing in the NFL."
Health drove him from his first head coaching job, with the New York Giants. It was there that he carved his reputation as a defensive-minded task master. His two championships certainly helped.
After two years of talking about football on television, he returned to coach New England. He got the Patriots to the Super Bowl in an entirely different way, letting Bledsoe set all sorts of passing records.
A split with management that produced his most famous quote -- "If they want you to cook the dinner, they at least ought to let you buy the groceries" -- resulted in him becoming coach and chief football operating officer of the Jets. Another turnaround followed, with New York reaching the conference championship.
He eventually handed the coaching job to Bill Belichick, but his longtime assistant walked away. Parcells stuck around for a year in the front office, then went back to television. It seemed as though he'd be there for good, too, especially after turning down Tampa Bay (which won the Super Bowl the next season without him) and other chances to get back into coaching.
Then Jones called and offered him Tom Landry's old job, challenging him to make the Cowboys "America's Team" once again.
An old-school guy if there ever was one, Parcells liked the idea -- even if it was coming from the man who fired Landry and couldn't coexist with Jimmy Johnson after a pair of Super Bowl victories.
But with the Cowboys coming off three straight 5-11 seasons, Parcells knew he could leave the club better than he found it. The money wasn't bad either, especially for a guy coming off a costly divorce.
Parcells teased fans by going 10-6 and making the playoffs his first season. The Cowboys have gone 6-10 and 9-7 since, missing the playoffs both times. It's only the second time in his career he's missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The other time, he had a players strike as an excuse.
Counting the loss in his only playoff game, Parcells is 25-24 in Dallas. That's not good for someone who says, "I'm too old to lose."
"He's always saying it, too," linebacker Bradie James said. "At minicamp, he said it's never taken him this long to win, so we kind of took that to heart."
While Parcells has seen Belichick pass him in number of Super Bowl titles, some things have worked out in Dallas, such as his relationship with Jones and Jones' son, Stephen.
Parcells has remained loyal to all decisions made by their three-man committee, including the signing of Terrell Owens. If there's been any friction between the big-ego bosses, insiders are doing a great job of covering it up.
Parcells also has taken to his players, especially the young ones. He often mentions the joy he gets of watching rising stars like cornerback Terence Newman, linebacker DeMarcus Ware, safety Roy Williams and tight end Jason Witten improve through his prodding, er, guidance.
"I think at age 50 or so I wondered, "Hey, Parcells, is this all you're going to do in life?"' Parcells said. "Once you get through that, which I am definitely through, you get to where you know chronologically you are close to the end (and) it gets a little bit more precious to you. ... Each game. Each season. It sounds a little corny, but really that's the way it is for me."
Don't get the wrong impression, though. Calling it a career is still on his mind.
He thought about it after each of the last two seasons. In January, he factored in the way Dallas crashed from potential No. 1 seed to playoff outsider over the final month and his brother's recent death.
"You don't want to be doing things when you are kind of in any emotional state, so I just asked Jerry for a couple of days to think it over," Parcells said.
He decided he owed it to Jones to keep trying. A raise and an extra year on his contract certainly sweetened the pro side of his pro-con chart, although Jones and Parcells both insist the extension was the owner's idea.
"I told him he didn't have to do it," Parcells said.
Before gearing up for this season, Parcells spent about 10 days playing golf and pondering life with Carolina offensive coordinator Dan Henning, a friend for nearly 40 years. Although Parcells easily won their annual competition of who takes the most pills every morning, Henning said Parcells came across as healthy and happy.
"We always mention to one another, 'How much longer do you think you'll do this?' Well, if we knew that, we'd be swami," Henning said. "But we certainly don't want to do it if things aren't comfortable. I feel comfortable here and I think he feels that way there."
Parcells recently said he'll retire once "results dictate that or you don't have the energy to do it." As of now, neither is true.
But here's one more thing to consider: Because Parcells was born in 1941, he's actually not eligible for full Social Security benefits until he's 65 years and eight months.
So check back in April.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:38 PM
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