Parcells, Gibbs not used to this
by Tim Cowlishaw
These coaches once ruled the NFC East, but times have changed
Joe Gibbs (right) and his Redskins swept Bill Parcells and the Cowboys last season.
Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells have a combined 32 years NFL head coaching experience. And yet by midnight, the game will have passed one of them by.
Barring an unlikely overtime tie, either the Cowboys or Redskins will be 0-2 late tonight. Since both teams have been picked to win the NFC East and, in some cases, to get to a Super Bowl, such an inauspicious beginning will not be easily stomached by diehard fans.
"It's a little early in the season to talk about what the end result is going to be," Parcells said. "[But] it's an important game for both teams."
The truth is that the game hasn't passed these veteran coaches by so much as it has changed. In a 10-year period from 1982 through 1991, Gibbs' Redskins and Parcells' New York Giants won five Super Bowls.
That was the era immediately preceding the arrival of real free agency in the NFL. Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks, but some of the core players were with him for years. And so it was with the defensive keys to Parcells' Giants teams.
Parcells had success with New England and the Jets without winning Super Bowls. His teams at least won playoff games there. That hasn't happened in Dallas.
In Washington, where Gibbs returned after a 12-year absence, the Redskins beat Tampa Bay in the playoffs a year ago. But Washington has not been quickly transformed into a winner under the franchise's most successful coach.
In fact, although Gibbs was considered an offensive innovator in his first stay at Washington, he brought in coordinator Al Saunders to refine the offense this season.
The best coaches on the planet won't turn either offense into Super Bowl units, however, if Redskins running back Clinton Portis (not expected to play) continues to sit with a shoulder injury or if the Cowboys' offensive line cannot protect immobile quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
"When I came back, I wanted to help the Redskins regain their winning form," Gibbs said. "Your past doesn't really buy you anything, just like last year doesn't buy anything."
Actually, their winning pasts earn both coaches credibility. But that won't last forever if postseason success doesn't materialize.
But it's not as easy now for either coach to do what he did in the '80s. Free agency and the roster upheaval it creates is only part of the equation.
Gibbs arrived in the NFC East in 1981. Parcells got the Giants job in 1983. After the 1982 season, the Cowboys went into decline and would not win another playoff game until 1991.
By that time, Parcells had won two Super Bowls and Gibbs was about to win his third. In addition, the presence of the St. Louis-Arizona Cardinals in the East provided a regular foil. The franchise went more than 20 years between playoff appearances.
"The way the divisions are aligned with four teams now, it's good for the fans' interest, it really is," Parcells said.
But it's more competitive, too. In the two seasons that both coaches have been back in the East, the coaches of the division champs have been Andy Reid and Tom Coughlin – not Gibbs and Parcells.
Both coaches at least have some of the tools needed to restore their franchises to winning ways. The Redskins' defense was good a year ago, even while playing through a number of injuries and with LaVar Arrington (now a Giant) not playing to expectations. It should be good again, and the Redskins have a much better receiving corps than they had last year.
The Cowboys also have more weapons on offense. And a second season in the 3-4 defense should increase the big-play potential of that unit.
But expectations in Dallas and Washington run higher than in most NFL cities. In the first 30 years of the Super Bowl era, either the Cowboys or Redskins played in the NFC Championship Game 20 times.
We won't see that kind of remarkable run in an era in which the playing field has been leveled by competition and free agency.
For now, Parcells and Gibbs would be grateful for one trip to the NFC Championship Game in January 2007.
These coaches once ruled the NFC East, but times have changed
Joe Gibbs (right) and his Redskins swept Bill Parcells and the Cowboys last season.
Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells have a combined 32 years NFL head coaching experience. And yet by midnight, the game will have passed one of them by.
Barring an unlikely overtime tie, either the Cowboys or Redskins will be 0-2 late tonight. Since both teams have been picked to win the NFC East and, in some cases, to get to a Super Bowl, such an inauspicious beginning will not be easily stomached by diehard fans.
"It's a little early in the season to talk about what the end result is going to be," Parcells said. "[But] it's an important game for both teams."
The truth is that the game hasn't passed these veteran coaches by so much as it has changed. In a 10-year period from 1982 through 1991, Gibbs' Redskins and Parcells' New York Giants won five Super Bowls.
That was the era immediately preceding the arrival of real free agency in the NFL. Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks, but some of the core players were with him for years. And so it was with the defensive keys to Parcells' Giants teams.
Parcells had success with New England and the Jets without winning Super Bowls. His teams at least won playoff games there. That hasn't happened in Dallas.
In Washington, where Gibbs returned after a 12-year absence, the Redskins beat Tampa Bay in the playoffs a year ago. But Washington has not been quickly transformed into a winner under the franchise's most successful coach.
In fact, although Gibbs was considered an offensive innovator in his first stay at Washington, he brought in coordinator Al Saunders to refine the offense this season.
The best coaches on the planet won't turn either offense into Super Bowl units, however, if Redskins running back Clinton Portis (not expected to play) continues to sit with a shoulder injury or if the Cowboys' offensive line cannot protect immobile quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
"When I came back, I wanted to help the Redskins regain their winning form," Gibbs said. "Your past doesn't really buy you anything, just like last year doesn't buy anything."
Actually, their winning pasts earn both coaches credibility. But that won't last forever if postseason success doesn't materialize.
But it's not as easy now for either coach to do what he did in the '80s. Free agency and the roster upheaval it creates is only part of the equation.
Gibbs arrived in the NFC East in 1981. Parcells got the Giants job in 1983. After the 1982 season, the Cowboys went into decline and would not win another playoff game until 1991.
By that time, Parcells had won two Super Bowls and Gibbs was about to win his third. In addition, the presence of the St. Louis-Arizona Cardinals in the East provided a regular foil. The franchise went more than 20 years between playoff appearances.
"The way the divisions are aligned with four teams now, it's good for the fans' interest, it really is," Parcells said.
But it's more competitive, too. In the two seasons that both coaches have been back in the East, the coaches of the division champs have been Andy Reid and Tom Coughlin – not Gibbs and Parcells.
Both coaches at least have some of the tools needed to restore their franchises to winning ways. The Redskins' defense was good a year ago, even while playing through a number of injuries and with LaVar Arrington (now a Giant) not playing to expectations. It should be good again, and the Redskins have a much better receiving corps than they had last year.
The Cowboys also have more weapons on offense. And a second season in the 3-4 defense should increase the big-play potential of that unit.
But expectations in Dallas and Washington run higher than in most NFL cities. In the first 30 years of the Super Bowl era, either the Cowboys or Redskins played in the NFC Championship Game 20 times.
We won't see that kind of remarkable run in an era in which the playing field has been leveled by competition and free agency.
For now, Parcells and Gibbs would be grateful for one trip to the NFC Championship Game in January 2007.
posted by The Gryphon at 11:10 AM
<< Home