Parcells has plenty of work to do
by Jay Glazer is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com on MSN and also appears every week on FOX NFL Sunday as the network's NFL Insider.
'Twas the week before Christmas, all through the house not a creature was stirring ... unless you live in Miami or Atlanta, where a Tuna proved Dolphin safe.
Such is the firestorm that often swirls around Bill Parcells. While much has been made of his jilt of the Falcons to take over the Dolphins' football operations, subplots continue to emerge in both cities. Who comes to the Dolphins? Who goes to Atlanta? Where do both teams go from here?
Head coach Cam Cameron and GM Randy Mueller are in the dark regarding their future in Miami as much as the rest of the league. As for the GM slot, sources close to Parcells have told FOX Sports that current Cowboys Director of College and Pro Scouting Jeff Ireland is the Tuna's primary target for the general manager position. Ireland is a below-the-radar personnel man, just the way Parcells likes it.
Rumors are also swirling that Patriots VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli will be the choice but those same sources say Parcells is leaning toward reuniting with Ireland at this point. The Cowboys drafted DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears and Chris Canty in their first draft with Ireland running the board.
If Parcells wanted to go after Pioli there would likely be a fight over whether he's actually getting a promotion and the commissioner's office would end up having to make a ruling on the matter (if the league ultimately determines that the job would be a lateral move, the Patriots would be able to block Pioli from leaving). But at any rate, why would Pioli want to leave a highly paid gig with a team that has seemed to do nothing but collect playoff paydays and Super Bowl rings?
While Parcells may get a bit of a fight in hiring Ireland away from Dallas — owner Jerry Jones wants to keep Ireland — he'd be a much easier target to wrestle from Dallas than Pioli would be from the Pats. In addition, while many believe that Ireland will not leave his home state, friends close to him say he has aspirations to be a GM and would in fact reunite with Parcells if offered the gig.
As for the head coach, Cameron has a better chance to stay than Mueller but the coach's chances still aren't great. In the end, Parcells has four years to turn the franchise around and he won't want to waste the first year getting to know somebody.
Names like Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett have been thrown about. Garrett had been in Miami before joining Dallas but seems to be a stretch. Cowboys assistant Tony Sprarano and perhaps former Dallas assistant (and Parcells favorite) Maurice Carthon could get interviews. One name they should consider is Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who would likely mesh well with Parcells.
As for Atlanta, there were reports that the team had reached out to Marty Schottenheimer and Chargers assistant GM Buddy Nix to go as a team to the Falcons. But those were nothing more than rumors as Arthur Blank apparently never went after the former Chargers coach. He had reached out to Parcells and Bill Cowher but that was as far as they went.
'Twas the week before Christmas, all through the house not a creature was stirring ... unless you live in Miami or Atlanta, where a Tuna proved Dolphin safe.
Such is the firestorm that often swirls around Bill Parcells. While much has been made of his jilt of the Falcons to take over the Dolphins' football operations, subplots continue to emerge in both cities. Who comes to the Dolphins? Who goes to Atlanta? Where do both teams go from here?
Head coach Cam Cameron and GM Randy Mueller are in the dark regarding their future in Miami as much as the rest of the league. As for the GM slot, sources close to Parcells have told FOX Sports that current Cowboys Director of College and Pro Scouting Jeff Ireland is the Tuna's primary target for the general manager position. Ireland is a below-the-radar personnel man, just the way Parcells likes it.
Rumors are also swirling that Patriots VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli will be the choice but those same sources say Parcells is leaning toward reuniting with Ireland at this point. The Cowboys drafted DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears and Chris Canty in their first draft with Ireland running the board.
If Parcells wanted to go after Pioli there would likely be a fight over whether he's actually getting a promotion and the commissioner's office would end up having to make a ruling on the matter (if the league ultimately determines that the job would be a lateral move, the Patriots would be able to block Pioli from leaving). But at any rate, why would Pioli want to leave a highly paid gig with a team that has seemed to do nothing but collect playoff paydays and Super Bowl rings?
While Parcells may get a bit of a fight in hiring Ireland away from Dallas — owner Jerry Jones wants to keep Ireland — he'd be a much easier target to wrestle from Dallas than Pioli would be from the Pats. In addition, while many believe that Ireland will not leave his home state, friends close to him say he has aspirations to be a GM and would in fact reunite with Parcells if offered the gig.
As for the head coach, Cameron has a better chance to stay than Mueller but the coach's chances still aren't great. In the end, Parcells has four years to turn the franchise around and he won't want to waste the first year getting to know somebody.
Names like Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett have been thrown about. Garrett had been in Miami before joining Dallas but seems to be a stretch. Cowboys assistant Tony Sprarano and perhaps former Dallas assistant (and Parcells favorite) Maurice Carthon could get interviews. One name they should consider is Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who would likely mesh well with Parcells.
As for Atlanta, there were reports that the team had reached out to Marty Schottenheimer and Chargers assistant GM Buddy Nix to go as a team to the Falcons. But those were nothing more than rumors as Arthur Blank apparently never went after the former Chargers coach. He had reached out to Parcells and Bill Cowher but that was as far as they went.
posted by The Gryphon at 4:15 PM
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