Bill Parcells says he's not "definitely" done with coaching
Parcells reflects on his legacy as NFL field guru
Bill Parcells says he has no plans to return to the NFL as a general manager, and won't talk about his Hall of Fame candidacy after his 19-year career as a head coach.
By Tom Weir, USA TODAY
Bill Parcells resigned as coach of the Dallas Cowboys in January and will be an analyst for ESPN during the upcoming NFL season. A winner of two Super Bowls, Parcells left with a 183-138-1 record in 19 seasons as an NFL head coach. He recently shared some thoughts with USA TODAY.
Q. Are you definitely done with coaching, and would you consider coming back as a general manager?
A. No and no. I've been doing this since 1964. Do the math. There are guys — and I pay tribute to them, Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno — who keep going forward. I think college football is a little different than professional. It's more games and a longer season in the pros. I'm 65 years old. I've been doing it a long time.
Q. What are you going to miss most?
A. The competition. I've been very lucky to compete as long as I did. Not many people get a chance to go out on their own terms in the football business.
Q. What are you going to miss least?
A. Just having to be on a schedule every single minute. The coaches' meetings, the press, always having to be there at certain times.
Q. From the start of your career until the end, how have players changed?
A. I think there are more people around them now. There are more people who tell them things. Years ago, they had their parents and their friends. Now you have their advisors and agents. Some of those people tell more what they want to hear than what the facts are sometimes. I've seen that damage players a lot. Not just playing, but financial things, investments. Some of them really don't know what's in their best interests.
Q. At some press conferences last season, when your New York Giants (pusses) teams were mentioned, you cut your answers short, saying, "Don't get me started about that." Why is that topic such an emotional tug?
A. It was the team I got started with. If it wasn't for a lot of those players, I wouldn't have been able to go forward in my career. I may have never been able to go as far as I have. I'm really grateful to them. I stay in touch with an awful lot of them. They were very special to me.
Q. How many of them did you hear from after announcing your retirement?
A. I'd say about 20.
Q. Do you support NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's tougher conduct policy?
A. Yes, I do think it's very good. I think we need more stringent laws in our society. You can't expect a segment of society to be much different than what the society is producing. I think a good, strong, fair policy is very important. It needs to be a strong deterrent, but it needs to be fair. But I don't think it needs to be overly liberal. I'm not looking for a pound of flesh, but some of the things that are happening, all the arrests, those are against the law, so I'm for it.
Q. How tough is it going to be if every team has to play an overseas game?
A. I'm a guy who doesn't like to fly, but I go. It's certainly not going to be an easy thing for the coaches or players or the working people on the team. You get a night or two with no sleep at all. It can affect people, and I think it will. But by the same token you're trying to grow the game, like basketball has done.
Q. Do you like the idea of a 17th regular-season game and a shorter preseason?
A. I think the season is long enough as it is. I think preseason can be a little long, but you do need time to get your team ready to play. I think it's more extensive than people realize. Training camps already are geared down from what they used to be. In fact, I think they are geared down pretty good. You have to understand that the players are always going to want less of that.
Q. If you were looking for the next good young coach — one who hasn't been a head coach yet — who would that be?
A. There's a couple of guys at Arizona, Todd Haley, Maurice Carthon, that I think a lot of. The thing is, you never know until the guy gets the job.
Q. Last season, you indicated you didn't agree with all the rules on protecting the quarterback, but didn't want to elaborate while you were still coaching? What's your take?
A. We all understand we need to have the quarterbacks playing. We all understand that. But I think what we've tried to do is legislate against the players' instincts. Everybody is saying "Get to the quarterback," but now you can't hit him there, you can't hit him here. It's a little bit of a paradox. You've got to pressure the quarterback to be successful and yet you can jeopardize your team's chances of winning with one contact that's judged subjectively. It's tough. I think it's gone a little far.
Q. You're a lock for the Hall of Fame. Who will be your introductory speaker?
A. You think so? Look, obviously I have some people who have been important to me. But I don't really want to talk about it. If I talk about it, they're going to say I'm lobbying for it. If it happens, I'll be elated.
Q. Tony Romo slumped a little at the end of the season. Are you still convinced he's going to be Dallas' long-term quarterback?
A. I think he has a chance to be. But I think there are things he has to do. I told Tony this before I left Dallas. I talked to him three or four times. There are certain things he has to do to improve. He knows what they are, and I won't make them public. I relayed my same sentiments to the quarterbacks coach, Wade Wilson.
Q. If you had it to do all over again, would you still have wanted Terrell Owens on the Cowboys last season?
A. Hey, that's just something we did as an organization, and hopefully it will work out for them, over time.
Q. What do you think you will bring to ESPN?
A. Just pretty much a candid, straightforward coach's point of view. I worked there before. I like the guys I'm going to be with. I look forward to getting back on board with them.
Bill Parcells says he has no plans to return to the NFL as a general manager, and won't talk about his Hall of Fame candidacy after his 19-year career as a head coach.
By Tom Weir, USA TODAY
Bill Parcells resigned as coach of the Dallas Cowboys in January and will be an analyst for ESPN during the upcoming NFL season. A winner of two Super Bowls, Parcells left with a 183-138-1 record in 19 seasons as an NFL head coach. He recently shared some thoughts with USA TODAY.
Q. Are you definitely done with coaching, and would you consider coming back as a general manager?
A. No and no. I've been doing this since 1964. Do the math. There are guys — and I pay tribute to them, Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno — who keep going forward. I think college football is a little different than professional. It's more games and a longer season in the pros. I'm 65 years old. I've been doing it a long time.
Q. What are you going to miss most?
A. The competition. I've been very lucky to compete as long as I did. Not many people get a chance to go out on their own terms in the football business.
Q. What are you going to miss least?
A. Just having to be on a schedule every single minute. The coaches' meetings, the press, always having to be there at certain times.
Q. From the start of your career until the end, how have players changed?
A. I think there are more people around them now. There are more people who tell them things. Years ago, they had their parents and their friends. Now you have their advisors and agents. Some of those people tell more what they want to hear than what the facts are sometimes. I've seen that damage players a lot. Not just playing, but financial things, investments. Some of them really don't know what's in their best interests.
Q. At some press conferences last season, when your New York Giants (pusses) teams were mentioned, you cut your answers short, saying, "Don't get me started about that." Why is that topic such an emotional tug?
A. It was the team I got started with. If it wasn't for a lot of those players, I wouldn't have been able to go forward in my career. I may have never been able to go as far as I have. I'm really grateful to them. I stay in touch with an awful lot of them. They were very special to me.
Q. How many of them did you hear from after announcing your retirement?
A. I'd say about 20.
Q. Do you support NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's tougher conduct policy?
A. Yes, I do think it's very good. I think we need more stringent laws in our society. You can't expect a segment of society to be much different than what the society is producing. I think a good, strong, fair policy is very important. It needs to be a strong deterrent, but it needs to be fair. But I don't think it needs to be overly liberal. I'm not looking for a pound of flesh, but some of the things that are happening, all the arrests, those are against the law, so I'm for it.
Q. How tough is it going to be if every team has to play an overseas game?
A. I'm a guy who doesn't like to fly, but I go. It's certainly not going to be an easy thing for the coaches or players or the working people on the team. You get a night or two with no sleep at all. It can affect people, and I think it will. But by the same token you're trying to grow the game, like basketball has done.
Q. Do you like the idea of a 17th regular-season game and a shorter preseason?
A. I think the season is long enough as it is. I think preseason can be a little long, but you do need time to get your team ready to play. I think it's more extensive than people realize. Training camps already are geared down from what they used to be. In fact, I think they are geared down pretty good. You have to understand that the players are always going to want less of that.
Q. If you were looking for the next good young coach — one who hasn't been a head coach yet — who would that be?
A. There's a couple of guys at Arizona, Todd Haley, Maurice Carthon, that I think a lot of. The thing is, you never know until the guy gets the job.
Q. Last season, you indicated you didn't agree with all the rules on protecting the quarterback, but didn't want to elaborate while you were still coaching? What's your take?
A. We all understand we need to have the quarterbacks playing. We all understand that. But I think what we've tried to do is legislate against the players' instincts. Everybody is saying "Get to the quarterback," but now you can't hit him there, you can't hit him here. It's a little bit of a paradox. You've got to pressure the quarterback to be successful and yet you can jeopardize your team's chances of winning with one contact that's judged subjectively. It's tough. I think it's gone a little far.
Q. You're a lock for the Hall of Fame. Who will be your introductory speaker?
A. You think so? Look, obviously I have some people who have been important to me. But I don't really want to talk about it. If I talk about it, they're going to say I'm lobbying for it. If it happens, I'll be elated.
Q. Tony Romo slumped a little at the end of the season. Are you still convinced he's going to be Dallas' long-term quarterback?
A. I think he has a chance to be. But I think there are things he has to do. I told Tony this before I left Dallas. I talked to him three or four times. There are certain things he has to do to improve. He knows what they are, and I won't make them public. I relayed my same sentiments to the quarterbacks coach, Wade Wilson.
Q. If you had it to do all over again, would you still have wanted Terrell Owens on the Cowboys last season?
A. Hey, that's just something we did as an organization, and hopefully it will work out for them, over time.
Q. What do you think you will bring to ESPN?
A. Just pretty much a candid, straightforward coach's point of view. I worked there before. I like the guys I'm going to be with. I look forward to getting back on board with them.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:44 PM
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