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| Wednesday, January 1 Updated: March 26, 3:52 PM ET Plenty of work ahead for Parcells By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com |
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There is no denying the coaching brilliance, or recuperative powers, that Bill Parcells has been able to provide ailing NFL franchises. Take the Biblical miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus, multiply that by three, and it pretty much sums up the Parcells legacy to this point.
In 1983, Parcells took over a New York Giants team that finished 4-5 during the strike-truncated '82 campaign, and had the club in the playoffs by 1984. The New England Patriots were a miserable 2-14 in 1992, and then earned a wild-card berth under Parcells' stewardship two years later. The New York Jets made one of the great quantum leaps in recent NFL history -- from 1-15 in '96 to 12-4 in '98 -- with Parcells directing the franchise. Indeed, his personal history has demonstrated that Parcells is unparalleled in the art of the speedy turnaround, a master motivator able to squeeze victories from rosters some observers considered filled with lemons. Never mind the itinerant bent or the fact that Parcells has now enacted more retirement-then-comeback sequences than Ol' Blue Eyes. His inherent lack of decisiveness, a trait he seems to agonizingly play out before each of his NFL incarnations, is certainly maddening. But his characteristic restlessness has never been a detriment when it comes to simply coaching football. In inheriting a Dallas Cowboys team that posted three consecutive years of double-digit defeats under Dave Campo, however, Parcells could well be embracing his greatest challenge. And the man nicknamed "The Tuna" will perhaps find that things will not go as swimmingly, at least not at the outset, as they did in his prior head coaching stints. Beyond the fact that he will be working for Jerry Jones, a man whose will for winning and Super Bowl ambition are certainly in dovetail with his own, Parcells will not enjoy the organization sway or high degree of autonomy he did in previous jobs. Parcells is fond of laissez faire management, men like Wellington Mara and Leon Hess, owners who stood aside and permitted their football men to take care of football matters.
In the coupling with Jones, a marriage of convenience for two men who get withdrawal symptoms when they are too removed from a spotlight, Parcells is entering into an alliance with a guy who spends more time on the sideline during a game than he does in his owner's suite. It will be interesting to see if the four-year, $17.1 million contract Parcells has agreed to includes a prenuptial stipulation strong enough to keep Jones out of the coaching box. Said one league general manager on New Year's Day morning: "Bill prefers an owner who just signs the paychecks. Hell, in Jerry, he's getting an owner who wants to OK the game plan. That one's going to be interesting. But the thing is, both Jerry and Bill know everyone thinks this deal is destined for failure, that they can't possibly co-exist. So I'm guessing both these guys, consciously or otherwise, are going to take a 'we'll-show-them' approach. I think they'll work extra hard to make this successful." To equal Parcells' past successes in the league, at least statistically, Dallas would have to be 13-3 in 2004. Parcells' three other teams averaged a plus-eight victory improvement over his first two seasons on the job. Moving the Cowboys beyond the 5-11 records the team rung up in each of the last three seasons could require the Midas touch that Parcells has demonstrated in his first three head coaching tenures, and then some. For the most part, Parcells will have sufficient control over the key football matters to get done what he wants to accomplish, and hopefully without too much overlap of responsibility with Jones. Here's a look at the three primary areas that must be addressed, an educated guess at how each will play out, and the strategies involved:
The two agreed the Cowboys already have in place an accomplished front office staff. Stephen Jones has demonstrated craft in negotiations and, at least over the last couple of years with the handling of veterans like former quarterback Troy Aikman, in salary cap management. Parcells has been told by confidants he will enjoy working with the younger Jones, whose ardor matches that of his father. Jerry Jones, of course, will retain his title as general manager but Parcells will be able to shape his roster and will have significant input in draft decisions. "Jerry isn't going to force any player onto Bill," said a source close to the negotiations, "and he's smart enough to know Bill wouldn't let him anyway." The Cowboys recently signed longtime director of college and pro scouting Larry Lacewell to a three-year contract extension, through 2005, and he will have a place in the organization. But look for Parcells to quickly reshape the scouting and personnel staffs with some of his own people. Two sources who have been privy to the Jones-Parcells discussions feel that the coach will actually welcome the streamlined design of the Dallas front office.
But give Parcells credit for this: During his three-year hiatus from the NFL, he has stayed close enough to the game, and spoken with enough people in the league to know where he can find solid assistants. Fact is, Parcells has been telling friends over the past week that he is confident his staff will be a very good one, with veteran people. Parcells will interview some members of the current Dallas staff, at the behest of Jones but also because the new coach has never been one to simply toss out the babies with the bath water, and a few of them will be retained. ESPN.com has learned that Parcells almost certainly will not attempt to pry offensive coordinator Henning away from the Carolina Panthers. That could mean current quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson, a man whom Jones had earmarked for bigger things, lands the offensive coordinator post. It's all but a given that current offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet and line coach Frank Verducci won't be asked to stay. Current defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has a shot of keeping his job. There have been rumors of disagreement between Parcells and Jones over the fate of special teams coach Joe Avezzano, a longtime pal of the owner and coach of the Dallas arena league team, but sources deny such a rift. There are some who feel that Parcells might contact former University of Georgia coach Jim Donnan, a Parcells friend who served with him on the Florida State staff in the early '70s. Donnan, who said Wednesday he hasn't been contacted by Parcells, recently turned down an offer to become head coach at Kentucky. Neither would it be surprising, if he doesn't land another head coaching spot or decide to sit out a year, for Tom Coughlin to be part of the Parcells staff.
Dallas started nine different offensive line units in 2002 and both tackles, Flozell Adams and Solomon Page, are slated for unrestricted free agency. Young wide receiver Antonio Bryant, an explosive player with promise, had better mature quickly and upgrade his work ethic. Parcells will have to make a decision on the future of Emmitt Smith, although that will be somewhat dictated by economics. And there is no way Parcells will reconcile having to live through the Chad Hutchinson apprenticeship. Make book on this: The new coach will have a new quarterback, likely a veteran free agent, someone who can get the Cowboys through the next few years. Even on defense, where the Cowboys statistically ranked No. 18 in the NFL, and where there appears to be some talent, a makeover is in order. Parcells has always been a coach who prefers bigger players and the current Dallas defense is smallish and built around quickness. Parcells may have to alter the way he likes to play, to some extent, but look for the linebacker corps to be dramatically revamped. There will be some room for acquiring players through free agency and it's a good bet Parcells, who has never liked to play youngsters, will take as much advantage of that as he can. According to NFL Players Association documents obtained by ESPN.com, the Cowboys have $63.918 million committed in 2003 cap expenditures. That's about $11 million under the projected spending limit. But the Cowboys can create more room by maneuvering with players like Smith (cap charge: $9.806 million) and wideout Rocket Ismail ($4.9 million), who said weeks ago he would restructure his deal to be able to remain with the Cowboys for another year.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. |
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