Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 to 1990, winning two Super Bowl titles. Parcells was later the head coach of the New England Patriots from 1993 to 1996, the New York Jets from 1997 to 2000, and the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006. Nicknamed "the Big Tuna", he is the only NFL coach to lead four different franchises to the playoffs and three to a conference championship game.
As the head coach of the Giants, Parcells took over a franchise that had qualified for the playoffs only once in the past decade and had only one winning record in their last 10 seasons. Within four years, he guided them to their first Super Bowl title and won a second championship in Super Bowl XXV four years later. Parcells retired following the second Super Bowl, but came out of retirement in 1993 to become the head coach of the Patriots, another struggling franchise at the time. By his fourth season, New England reached Super Bowl XXXI, although the game ended in defeat. He left the Patriots after their Super Bowl loss and became the head coach and general manager of the Jets, who went from a one-win season to appearing in the AFC Championship Game by his second year.
Parcells retired for a second time in 1999, but returned again in 2003 as the head coach of the Cowboys. The Cowboys made two playoff appearances under Parcells, although both ended in first-round defeats, leading to his third and final retirement in 2007. Following his final retirement from coaching, Parcells served as the vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins from 2008 to 2010. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Early life Parcells was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on August 22, 1941. He grew up in the nearby town of Hasbrouck Heights. His mother, Ida Parcells (born Naclerio), was a housewife while his father, Charles (Chubby) Parcells, played quarterback at Georgetown University and worked for the FBI before becoming a lawyer for Uniroyal Tires.
Prior to his sophomore year in high school, the Parcells family moved a few miles north to the town of Oradell, where he attended River Dell Regional High School. While he was at River Dell, he was routinely mistaken for another boy named Bill. As he had always disliked his given name of Duane, he decided to adopt Bill as his nickname. While coaching the New York Giants, Parcells and his family lived in upscale Upper Saddle River, a New Jersey town which was the home of Giants General Manager George Young as well.
Parcells was an athlete as a youth. At upon entering River Dell, he was large for his age, which enabled him to become a standout player on his high school's football, baseball, and basketball teams.Puma, Mike. Parcells made struggling franchises into winners, ESPN.com. Accessed October 11, 2006. "When he entered River Dell High School in 1955, Parcells was one of the biggest kids in his class at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds." His football coach at River Dell was Tom Cahill, who would later become the head coach at Army. His basketball coach at River Dell was Mickey Corcoran, whom Parcells considers to be "next to my father ... the most important influence in my life."Gutman, Bill (2000). Parcells: A Biography, p. 17. Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. Corcoran would serve Parcells as an advisor and confidant throughout his coaching career.
Playing career Upon graduating from high school, Parcells arrived at Colgate University.http://wsu.wichita.edu/the-shocker/story.php?eid=15&id=268#.Xjiwac5KiHs As a freshman, he was offered a contract by the Philadelphia Phillies. His father disapproved of a career in sports and wanted him to study law, so the younger Parcells declined the offer. He soon transferred to the University of Wichita (now known as Wichita State University), where he played linebacker and earned a physical education degree.
He was drafted in the seventh round (89th overall) by the Detroit Lions as an offensive lineman, but was released by the team before playing a single NFL game when he reportedly quit the team after a hot morning workout.
College coaching career At the conclusion of his playing days, Parcells took a close look at his future. He was considering attending law school or becoming a franchise owner for Pizza Hut, where he had worked in college. Instead, he chose to pursue a career in football. He began as an assistant coach at Hastings (1964) before moving on to Wichita State (1965), Army (1966–69), Florida State (1970–72), Vanderbilt (1973–74), and Texas Tech (1975–77). In 1978, he became the head coach at the Air Force Academy for one season.
While serving as linebackers coach at Army, Parcells was also a part-time assistant basketball coach for Bob Knight during the 1966–67 season, which led to their longtime friendship.http://www.mahalo.com/Bill_Parcells "Bill Parcells started his [head] coaching career with the Air Force Academy and was part-time assistant basketball coach at Army, while Bobby Knight was the head coach."
Professional coaching career
New York Giants (1979) In 1979, Parcells accepted an offer to become the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants under head coach Ray Perkins. However, when his wife Judy and three daughters wanted to stay in Colorado, he resigned and took a job with a land development company in Colorado. While living in Colorado, Parcells became a season ticket holder with the Denver Broncos. Parcells called it the most miserable year of his life. Recognizing his unhappiness, his wife eventually encouraged him to return to coaching, paving the way for his eventual tenure with the Giants.
New England Patriots (1980) Feeling dissatisfied with his life away from football, Parcells returned to the sport in 1980 as the linebackers coach of the New England Patriots under Ron Erhardt. It was during this stint with the Patriots that Parcells adopted his "Big Tuna" nickname. Whenever he thought his players were trying to get away with something, Parcells would yell "Who do you think I am? Charlie the Tuna?," referencing a StarKist commercial of the era featuring a naive cartoon fish named, "Charlie the Tuna."
New York Giants (1981–1990) The following season, Parcells was approached once again by Perkins to join the Giants' staff as an assistant coach, and Parcells accepted the offer. As defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, he was allowed to change the team's 4–3 defense to a 3–4 system. When Perkins announced on December 15, 1982, that he was leaving the Giants at the end of the season to become head coach and athletic director at the University of Alabama, the Giants announced that Parcells would succeed him as head coach.
When Parcells took over in 1983, the team had posted just one winning season in the previous ten years. In his first year, he made a controversial decision to bench Phil Simms in favor of Scott Brunner due to Brunner's success in leading the Giants to the 1981 post-season. Also, Simms had missed the entire 1982 season in addition to the latter part of 1981 due to injury. Brunner struggled and Parcells went back to Simms in week 6, but Simms broke his thumb and missed the rest of 1983. The result was a disastrous 3–12–1 season during which the Giants surreptitiously offered Parcells's job to University of Miami head coach Howard Schnellenberger after a week 14 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals; however, Schnellenberger declined, and Parcells remained as head coach.
After this dismal first season, Parcells made a finally healthy Simms the starter again for 1984 and replaced half the roster. The team's record improved to 9–7 and 10–6 over the next two years, and earned them their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1961–1963. In 1986, he led the Giants to the first of two Super Bowls. In the 1986 season, the Giants compiled a franchise-best 14–2 record and the first of three division titles. Parcells, whose stifling 3–4 defense (known as the Big Blue Wrecking Crew) led by Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Harry Carson, and Leonard Marshall, and an offense under the direction of Phil Simms, knocked off the San Francisco 49ers 49–3, and the Washington Redskins 17–0, in the playoffs before routing the Denver Broncos 39–20 in Super Bowl XXI. Parcells is credited as the first coach to be doused with Gatorade at the end of a Super Bowl, which led to a Super Bowl tradition. While there are some claims that Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka had been doused a year earlier, NFL Films president Steve Sabol has stated that he can find no evidence to support it in any footage he has reviewed and that he believes the tradition started with Parcells and Jim Burt.
Following the Super Bowl win, Parcells was courted by the Atlanta Falcons to become the head coach and general manager of the franchise. However, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle would not allow Parcells to break his contract with the Giants and he stayed in New York.
Parcells led the Giants to a second Super Bowl in 1990. The Giants began the 1990 season 10–0, but lost Phil Simms to injury late in the season and finished 13–3. Playing with a back-up quarterback in Jeff Hostetler and a 33-year-old veteran running back in Ottis Anderson, the Giants convincingly defeated the Chicago Bears in the divisional playoff, 31–3. They followed that up with a dramatic, come-from-behind fashion over San Francisco, 15–13, in the NFC Championship game on a last-second 42-yard field goal by Matt Bahr, set up by a Roger Craig fumble caused by nose tackle Erik Howard. Super Bowl XXV proved equally exciting as the Giants used a tough defensive scheme crafted by defensive coordinator Bill Belichick and a ball-control and power-running Erhardt – Perkins style offense to stop the Buffalo Bills, 20–19, whose own last-second 47-yard field goal attempt by Scott Norwood missed Wide Right. Parcells retired from football after Super Bowl XXV due to health problems.
During his coaching tenure, the Giants secured three division titles (1986, 1989, 1990), had only two losing seasons (the Giants went 6–9 during the strike year of 1987), and tallied an 8–3 playoff record. Parcells, along with former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, both made the NFL playoffs five times as Giants head coach, and the two Super Bowl titles they each won with the Giants occurred in their fourth and eighth seasons with the franchise, respectively.
First retirement Following retirement, Parcells spent time as a football analyst for NBC Sports from 1991 to 1992, working as a commentator. He also co-hosted a local sports show in New York with Mike Francesa called Around the NFL.
In 1992, Parcells made a handshake agreement to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the last minute, Parcells opted not to take the job. Parcells did not feel the situation was right for him at that time. Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse said, "I feel like I've been jilted at the altar."
Parcells was also offered by his friend Ron Wolf the opportunity to become the new head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1992, but Parcells declined, saying that he needed open heart surgery. The job instead went to Mike Holmgren, who would later coach against Parcells in Super Bowl XXXI.
New England Patriots (1993–1996) After a two-year hiatus, Parcells returned to the NFL in 1993 as the head coach for the struggling New England Patriots, who were fresh off of a 2–14 record in 1992. Within two years, he coached the team to a 10–6 record in 1994 and its first playoff game in eight years. In 1996, he guided the Patriots to their first division title in 11 years, and only the second and third home playoff games in franchise history. The Patriots went all the way to Super Bowl XXXI, but lost to the Green Bay Packers, 35–21, in New Orleans.