One season with T.O. takes Tuna out of game for good
BY GARY MYERS
DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUMNIST
Sunday, May 13th 2007, 4:00 AM Terrell Owens and Bill Parcells
Terrell Owens was Bill Parcells' headache last year. Randy Moss is Bill Belichick's headache this year. Parcells got rid of his headache, but it took more than a couple of aspirin and a good night's sleep. He retired from coaching again.
So what does he think about Belichick trading for Moss in New England after what he went through with T.O. in Dallas?
"They are not the same. I don't really want to really get into it. It's over with," Parcells said by phone from his home in Jupiter, Fla. "I don't know Moss, so I can't say anything about him. I don't want to talk about Owens and I don't know the other guy."
It was the first time I've heard Parcells call Owens anything other than "the player." Coaching T.O. seemed to aggravate him, even wear him out. Owens was a constant soap opera who dropped too many balls to be worth the trouble. Parcells confirmed that signing Owens last year "was not my decision. I had to do the best I could with him, which is what I tried to do."
One of the big differences in the Moss-Owens situations: Belichick made the trade for Moss. Jerry Jones made the decision to sign Owens. Jones also gave Owens $5 million up front, which eliminated any leverage Parcells had with him in training camp.
The Patriots have no financial risk with Moss until the season starts. Moss collects a $500,000 roster bonus from the Pats only after he makes the final 53-man roster, and, like any vested veteran, his $2.5 million base salary is guaranteed only when he makes the team. Told that Moss doesn't collect any of his money until the week before the first game, Parcells said, "That's good."
How does he think Belichick will handle Moss? "I'm sure Bill has an understanding with the player," Parcells said. "I'm sure he does."
Parcells expressed regret only about how the Cowboys season ended - Tony Romo fumbled the snap on the potential winning field goal in the wild-card game in Seattle - not with his decision to walk away from his fourth head coaching job. "I thought if we get that game, we were going to the Super Bowl," he said.
Clearly, with Parcells' track record, it's not unreasonable to question whether he is really done with coaching. After all, we've heard it all before from him. But with training camps 10 weeks away, he insists he is not suffering from football withdrawal. I don't envision a situation that would bring him back, not even to the Giants if his friend Tom Coughlin is fired after the season.
Parcells was strongly considered in 1997 when the Giants hired Jim Fassel and Parcells went to the Jets. He probably would have been hired in 2004 to replace Fassel if he hadn't come out of retirement the year before with the Cowboys.
"This is definitely it," Parcells said. "I'm 65 and started coaching in 1964. You do the math. That's a long time. I'm happy. There is no doubt in my mind I did the right thing."
Parcells was 34-30 in four seasons in Dallas and 0-2 in the playoffs. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants, took the Patriots to the Super Bowl, took the Jets to the AFC title game, but couldn't get past the wild-card round in Dallas. This is not how he envisioned it ending. "You want to leave with a world championship trophy in your hands," he said.
He didn't come close and is defensive about his accomplishments with the Cowboys. "I didn't lose down there," he said. "We had a winning record. The franchise is a lot better than it was. We had three winning seasons out of four. The problem is the standard is pretty high. I don't feel like I did a bad job there."
Parcells will be returning soon to his home in Saratoga. He plans to attend some games this season, but even though he will be about 30 minutes from Giants training camp in Albany, he won't stop by and watch practice or be a guest coach for Coughlin or a head coach for anybody in the future.
Will commish sack Vick? Roger Goodell handed out suspensions to Pacman Jones and Chris Henry. Tank Johnson, due to be released from prison today, is next after he meets with Goodell on Wednesday. But none of them would compare to the impact if Goodell decided to suspend Michael Vick, one of the faces of the NFL. Goodell could essentially put an end to the Falcons' season if he sits Vick for a long period of time. It would take guts, but Goodell insists the game comes first. Vick would be a huge test case.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank admits he is concerned Vick could be facing a suspension if allegations of illegal dog fighting on the qurterback's property in Virginia implicate him. Vick put the property up for sale last week and it sold immediately. Blank, who recently lectured Vick about his responsibility to the Falcons, the NFL and himself, said he didn't know if Vick was involved in the dog-fighting, but told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "From the facts we have so far, it's not a pretty picture. It's clearly an issue and we'll wait and see what revolves around it. I'm not a prosecutor or an attorney so I'm not going to sit in judgment of Michael."
Blank said Goodell has Vick "on his radar." "If he's found to be guilty or charged with dog fighting - obviously I have no idea or indication of what that will be - that's serious stuff," Blank said. Goodell, at Blank's request, met with Vick at the draft. Vick said Goodell and Blank both have "challenged me to be more accountable in all areas of my life."
McNabb feels chilly draft Donovan McNabb was "shocked" that Andy Reid took Houston QB Kevin Kolb with the Eagles' first pick in the draft two weeks ago. McNabb, who is coming off ACL surgery, was making his first comments since Reid drafted Kolb with the fourth pick in the second round after trading down from No. 26 to No. 36. "I was shocked just like the rest of the people were," McNabb said last week. "It was kind of shocking, to the point where you're wondering, 'Was that really our first pick, did we take a quarterback?'
" The Eagles had targeted Miami safety Brandon Meriweather, but he went No. 25 to New England. That may have prompted the Eagles to trade down. McNabb believed the Eagles would take a player who could help them right now. McNabb is 30, has suffered major injuries in three of the last five years, his backups are journeymen A.J. Feeley and Kelly Holcomb and Reid clearly felt he had to find his eventual successor. But we know how sensitive McNabb is after the way he handled his two years with T.O., so you have to wonder if Kolb is good enough for Reid to risk alienating McNabb.
Looking long & international The NFL is considering a plan to expand the regular season to 17 games, with each team playing one game abroad per season. One possibility is playing four games each year in London, Germany, Canada and Mexico. The NFL has tapped into just about every revenue source in the United States, so it's time to take the money-making machine on the road. Funny that the NFL can find ways to play games in Europe and elsewhere, but can't get a team back in Los Angeles. Then again, let me know when somebody in L.A. complains about not having a team there since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season.
DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUMNIST
Sunday, May 13th 2007, 4:00 AM Terrell Owens and Bill Parcells
Terrell Owens was Bill Parcells' headache last year. Randy Moss is Bill Belichick's headache this year. Parcells got rid of his headache, but it took more than a couple of aspirin and a good night's sleep. He retired from coaching again.
So what does he think about Belichick trading for Moss in New England after what he went through with T.O. in Dallas?
"They are not the same. I don't really want to really get into it. It's over with," Parcells said by phone from his home in Jupiter, Fla. "I don't know Moss, so I can't say anything about him. I don't want to talk about Owens and I don't know the other guy."
It was the first time I've heard Parcells call Owens anything other than "the player." Coaching T.O. seemed to aggravate him, even wear him out. Owens was a constant soap opera who dropped too many balls to be worth the trouble. Parcells confirmed that signing Owens last year "was not my decision. I had to do the best I could with him, which is what I tried to do."
One of the big differences in the Moss-Owens situations: Belichick made the trade for Moss. Jerry Jones made the decision to sign Owens. Jones also gave Owens $5 million up front, which eliminated any leverage Parcells had with him in training camp.
The Patriots have no financial risk with Moss until the season starts. Moss collects a $500,000 roster bonus from the Pats only after he makes the final 53-man roster, and, like any vested veteran, his $2.5 million base salary is guaranteed only when he makes the team. Told that Moss doesn't collect any of his money until the week before the first game, Parcells said, "That's good."
How does he think Belichick will handle Moss? "I'm sure Bill has an understanding with the player," Parcells said. "I'm sure he does."
Parcells expressed regret only about how the Cowboys season ended - Tony Romo fumbled the snap on the potential winning field goal in the wild-card game in Seattle - not with his decision to walk away from his fourth head coaching job. "I thought if we get that game, we were going to the Super Bowl," he said.
Clearly, with Parcells' track record, it's not unreasonable to question whether he is really done with coaching. After all, we've heard it all before from him. But with training camps 10 weeks away, he insists he is not suffering from football withdrawal. I don't envision a situation that would bring him back, not even to the Giants if his friend Tom Coughlin is fired after the season.
Parcells was strongly considered in 1997 when the Giants hired Jim Fassel and Parcells went to the Jets. He probably would have been hired in 2004 to replace Fassel if he hadn't come out of retirement the year before with the Cowboys.
"This is definitely it," Parcells said. "I'm 65 and started coaching in 1964. You do the math. That's a long time. I'm happy. There is no doubt in my mind I did the right thing."
Parcells was 34-30 in four seasons in Dallas and 0-2 in the playoffs. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants, took the Patriots to the Super Bowl, took the Jets to the AFC title game, but couldn't get past the wild-card round in Dallas. This is not how he envisioned it ending. "You want to leave with a world championship trophy in your hands," he said.
He didn't come close and is defensive about his accomplishments with the Cowboys. "I didn't lose down there," he said. "We had a winning record. The franchise is a lot better than it was. We had three winning seasons out of four. The problem is the standard is pretty high. I don't feel like I did a bad job there."
Parcells will be returning soon to his home in Saratoga. He plans to attend some games this season, but even though he will be about 30 minutes from Giants training camp in Albany, he won't stop by and watch practice or be a guest coach for Coughlin or a head coach for anybody in the future.
Will commish sack Vick? Roger Goodell handed out suspensions to Pacman Jones and Chris Henry. Tank Johnson, due to be released from prison today, is next after he meets with Goodell on Wednesday. But none of them would compare to the impact if Goodell decided to suspend Michael Vick, one of the faces of the NFL. Goodell could essentially put an end to the Falcons' season if he sits Vick for a long period of time. It would take guts, but Goodell insists the game comes first. Vick would be a huge test case.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank admits he is concerned Vick could be facing a suspension if allegations of illegal dog fighting on the qurterback's property in Virginia implicate him. Vick put the property up for sale last week and it sold immediately. Blank, who recently lectured Vick about his responsibility to the Falcons, the NFL and himself, said he didn't know if Vick was involved in the dog-fighting, but told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "From the facts we have so far, it's not a pretty picture. It's clearly an issue and we'll wait and see what revolves around it. I'm not a prosecutor or an attorney so I'm not going to sit in judgment of Michael."
Blank said Goodell has Vick "on his radar." "If he's found to be guilty or charged with dog fighting - obviously I have no idea or indication of what that will be - that's serious stuff," Blank said. Goodell, at Blank's request, met with Vick at the draft. Vick said Goodell and Blank both have "challenged me to be more accountable in all areas of my life."
McNabb feels chilly draft Donovan McNabb was "shocked" that Andy Reid took Houston QB Kevin Kolb with the Eagles' first pick in the draft two weeks ago. McNabb, who is coming off ACL surgery, was making his first comments since Reid drafted Kolb with the fourth pick in the second round after trading down from No. 26 to No. 36. "I was shocked just like the rest of the people were," McNabb said last week. "It was kind of shocking, to the point where you're wondering, 'Was that really our first pick, did we take a quarterback?'
" The Eagles had targeted Miami safety Brandon Meriweather, but he went No. 25 to New England. That may have prompted the Eagles to trade down. McNabb believed the Eagles would take a player who could help them right now. McNabb is 30, has suffered major injuries in three of the last five years, his backups are journeymen A.J. Feeley and Kelly Holcomb and Reid clearly felt he had to find his eventual successor. But we know how sensitive McNabb is after the way he handled his two years with T.O., so you have to wonder if Kolb is good enough for Reid to risk alienating McNabb.
Looking long & international The NFL is considering a plan to expand the regular season to 17 games, with each team playing one game abroad per season. One possibility is playing four games each year in London, Germany, Canada and Mexico. The NFL has tapped into just about every revenue source in the United States, so it's time to take the money-making machine on the road. Funny that the NFL can find ways to play games in Europe and elsewhere, but can't get a team back in Los Angeles. Then again, let me know when somebody in L.A. complains about not having a team there since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season.
posted by The Gryphon at 2:32 PM
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