SI: Then-Pats coach Parcells flirted with Jets during Super Bowl week

[Rich]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/peter_king/09/20/mmqb/index.html

The ultimate betrayal?
Book: Then-Pats coach Parcells flirted with Jets during Super Bowl week

By Peter King

NASHVILLE -- The messy 1997 divorce of the Patriots and Bill Parcells isn't over.

In a new book on the inner workings of the New England Patriots due out this week, author Michael Holley reports the Patriots have phone records from the New Orleans Marriott the week of their Super Bowl XXXI appearance against Green Bay linking then-coach Parcells to the New York Jets. And the book quotes staff member Bill Belichick -- then the defensive coordinator of the team, now its head coach -- as saying the Patriots were distracted heading into the game because Parcells was "talking to other teams.''

...

And the book quotes Belichick as saying about Parcells' alleged flirtation with the Jets: "Yeah, I'd say it was a little bit of a distraction all the way around. I can tell you first-hand, there was a lot of stuff going on prior to the game. I mean, him talking to other teams. He was trying to make up his mind about what he was going to do. Which, honestly, I felt [was] totally inappropriate. How many chances do you get to play for the Super Bowl? Tell them to get back to you in a couple of days. I'm not saying it was disrespectful to me, but it was in terms of the overall commitment to the team."

..

This quote from Belichick is probably two or three years old, which could explain Belichick's outspoken criticism of Parcells. Last year, when Parcells' new team, the Cowboys, played the Patriots, the two men had a fairly warm exchange at the end of the game. This summer, when I interviewed Belichick for a Sports Illustrated story about his relationship with Parcells, he was cordial, complimentary and analytical about Parcells' influence on his career.

...

[stevethesoxfan]

Can you imagine??? If I was a player on that year's Pats team I would be unbelievably angry. You're trying to win the Super Bowl, and your coach is negotiating for a job instead of gameplanning the biggest game you'll ever be in in your life.

Parcells may be a smart coach, but he's a jerk as a person.

[cubswin]

Screw him. We're better off w/o him (literally and figratively).

[RIyankee]

Originally posted by cubswin
Screw him. We're better off w/o him (literally and figratively).

Parcells is partly responsible for the Pats two SB victories. Why did Kraft eat crow and cede picks to the Jets for Belichick, a failed coach in Cleveland? Who taught this franchise how to win? Belichick shares the same paradigm with Parcells. The Pats two coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel began their NFL coaching careers under the Tuna.

Yes, I agree that Parcells was devious in his actions during the SB XXXI week and was petty when Belichick pursued the Pats job. Parcells is flawed man like everyone else but he'll always have a place in my heart for saving the NE francihise.

[cubswin]

Originally posted by RIyankee


Parcells is partly responsible for the Pats two SB victories. Why did Kraft eat crow and cede picks to the Jets for Belichick, a failed coach in Cleveland? Who taught this franchise how to win? Belichick shares the same paradigm with Parcells. The Pats two coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel began their NFL coaching careers under the Tuna.

Yes, I agree that Parcells was devious in his actions during the SB XXXI week and was petty when Belichick pursued the Pats job. Parcells is flawed man like everyone else but he'll always have a place in my heart for saving the NE francihise.


Maybe slightly -- barely -- responsible, but given that he didn't win when his team was actually in the SB, and he wasn't preparing as much as he could have been to top it off, I'll continue to give the vast majority of the credit to the guys I think deserve it: the players and coaches who did win it, not Parcells.

[Rich]

Originally posted by RIyankee

Why did Kraft eat crow and cede picks to the Jets for Belichick, a failed coach in Cleveland?

Because Tagliabue ordered him to in order to save the NFL more bad pub.

[RIyankee]

Originally posted by Rich


Because Tagliabue ordered him to in order to save the NFL more bad pub.

The point I tried to make was that Kraft wanted "Parcells" back in the form of Bill Belichick and was willing to take whatever steps necessary. The Grier/Carroll era was a dismal failure and Kraft was getting killed in the media and by the fans. Kraft learned his lesson.

[WebsterMulligan]

Originally posted by stevethesoxfan
Parcells may be a smart coach, but he's a jerk as a person.

He sure knows how to conduct a post-game interview.

[RIyankee]

I used to go to Pats Tuna-TCs at Bryant College. Those were fun to watch.

My Tuna-TC memories...

1993 - Days after rookie QB Drew Bledsoe was called for two delay of games in their first preseason game at SD, Drew was calling the snap count when suddenly interrupted by Tuna.
Parcells: "What the hell are you looking at son, it's taken you seven f***ing seconds and the ball still isn't snapped." NOTE: women and children were in attendance.

1993 - 7-on-7 a rookie 8th round WR dropped a couple of balls. Parcells yanked him and said "get somebody who can catch out there." We thought that WR was a goner. That WR was Troy Brown.

1993 - Parcells fires all of his ballboys for not moving the 1st down chains fast enough.

1993 - On the first day of TC, Parcells cuts incumbant OL Reggie Redding. When asked why, he responds, "He had that brook trout look after running his drills." Then he makes a sad looking face by pouting and juting his lower lip.

1994 - Parcells rips TE Ben Coates for missing a blocking assignment: "Coates, Coates, we just lost our QB for the season because of you!"

1996 - Called DE Mike Pitts "Mr. Geritol".

1995 - I actually talked with him. I asked him questions about the whereabouts of two players I didn't see on the practice field. He kindly answered my questions.

Despite his actions after SB XXXI I was sad to see him go.