HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
coach who served as a
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
from 1983 to 1990, where he won two
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
titles. Parcells was later the head coach of the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
from 1993 to 1996, the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
from 1997 to 1999, and the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
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 Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
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 Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
, although the game ended in defeat. Parcells left the Patriots after their Super Bowl loss and became the head coach of the Jets, who went from a one-win season to appearing in the
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
by his second year. He 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 has served as an courtesy consultant for the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
since 2014. He was also the vice president of football operations with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, a position he held from 2008 to 2010. Parcells was inducted to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
in 2013.


Early life

Parcells was born in
Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from po ...
, 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 Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
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. He and his wife lived on Pleasant Avenue in upscale Upper Saddle River, N.J., which was also home to the Parcells family. 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. His football coach at River Dell was Tom Cahill, who would later become the head coach at
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. 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." Corcoran would serve Parcells as an advisor and confidant throughout his coaching career.


College years

Upon graduating from high school, Parcells arrived at
Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theolog ...
. As a freshman, he was offered a contract by the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. 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 Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
), where he played linebacker and earned a physical education degree. It was here that Parcells' famous nickname "Big Tuna" took hold. The name itself is a mis-statement of his actual nickname "Tuner". There were few radio stations in Wichita at the time, so players often trained without music. Parcells, showing the kind of preparation that would make him a successful coach later, frequently arrived early to training sessions, in order to set up a radio. Parcells would try several locations in the gym to get a signal. His diligence and attention to detail earned him the nickname "Tuner". This subsequently became "Tuna", likely due to the accents of the New York media who covered the Giants. He was drafted in the seventh round (89th overall) by the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
as an offensive lineman, but he was released by the team before playing a single NFL game after Parcells reportedly quit the team after a hot morning workout.


Collegiate 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 Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...
, where he had worked in college. Instead, he chose to pursue a career in football. He began as an assistant coach at
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
(1964) before moving on to
Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study ...
(1965),
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
(1966–69),
Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...
(1970–72), Vanderbilt (1973–74), and
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
(1975–77). In 1978, he became the head coach at the
Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...
for one season. While serving as linebackers coach at
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, Parcells was also a part-time assistant basketball coach for
Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...
during the 1966–67 season, which led to their longtime friendship.


Professional coaching career


New York Giants (1979, 1981–1990)

In 1979, Parcells accepted an offer to become the
defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...
of the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
under head coach
Ray Perkins Walter Ray Perkins (November 6, 1941 – December 9, 2020) was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including sti ...
but, before the season started, he resigned and took a job with a land development company in
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
. While living in Colorado, Parcells became a season ticket holder with the Denver Broncos. Parcells called it the most miserable year of his life. Feeling dissatisfied with his life away from football, Parcells returned to the sport in 1980 as the linebackers coach of the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
under Ron Erhardt. 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 University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...
, 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 Scott Lee Brunner (born March 24, 1957) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the New York Giants from 1980 to 1983, the Denver Broncos in 1984, and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1 ...
. The result was a disastrous 3–12–1 season during which the Giants surreptitiously offered Parcells' job to
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
head coach
Howard Schnellenberger Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021) was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League's Baltimore Colts a ...
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 Simms the starter again. 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 Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
s. 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 Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an outside linebacker for the New York Giants ( 1981–1993) in the National Football League ( ...
,
Carl Banks Carl E. Banks (born August 29, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played from 1984 to 1995 for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Br ...
, Harry Carson, and Leonard Marshall, and an offense under the direction of Phil Simms, knocked off the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
49–3, and the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
17–0, in the playoffs before routing the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
, 39–20, in
Super Bowl XXI Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
. 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 Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...
had been doused a year earlier,
NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...
president
Steve Sabol Stephen Douglas Sabol (October 2, 1942September 18, 2012) was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist. Sabol was born in Moores ...
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 The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...
to become the head coach and
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the franchise. However, NFL Commissioner
Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement i ...
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, and finished 13–3, but lost Simms to injury late in the season. Playing with a back-up quarterback in
Jeff Hostetler William Jeffrey Hostetler (born April 22, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins. His nickname is "Hoss." College career ...
and a 33-year-old veteran running back in Ottis Anderson, the Giants convincingly defeated the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
in the divisional playoff, 31–3, and won in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion over
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, 15–13, in the
NFC Championship game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...
on a last-second 42-yard field goal by Matt Bahr, which was set up by a Roger Craig fumble caused by nose tackle Erik Howard.
Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
proved equally exciting as the Giants used tough defense, and a ball-control and power-running Erhardt – Perkins style offense to stop the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
, 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 had 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 Thomas Richard Coughlin ( ; born August 31, 1946) is a former American football coach and executive. He was the head coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2015. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, both time ...
, both made the
NFL playoffs The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaki ...
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 NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its ...
from 1991 to 1992, working as a commentator. He also hosted a local sports show in New York with Mike Francesa entitled ''Around the NFL''. In 1992, Parcells made a handshake agreement to become head coach of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
. At the last minute, Parcells opted not to take the job. Parcells did not feel the situation was right for him at that time. Tampa Bay owner Hugh Culverhouse said, "I feel like I've been jilted at the altar." Parcells was also offered by his friend
Ron Wolf Ronald Wolf (born December 30, 1938) is the former American football general manager (GM) of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers. Wolf is widely credited with bringing success to a Packers franchise that had rarely won during the two ...
to become the new head coach of the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
in 1992, but Parcells declined, saying that he needed open heart surgery. The job instead went to
Mike Holmgren Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXI ...
, who would later coach against Parcells in
Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
.


New England Patriots (1993−1996)

After a two-year
hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...
, Parcells returned to the NFL in 1993 as the head coach for the struggling
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
, who were fresh off of a 2–14 record. Within two years, he coached the team to a 10–6 record and its first playoff game in eight years. In
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, 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 Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
, but lost to the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
, 35–21, in New Orleans. Parcells left the Patriots after disagreements with owner
Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment ...
, who had bought the team in early 1994, after Parcells' first year as head coach. Parcells had effectively been the team's
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
since arriving in New England, but felt Kraft would not allow him enough input in player personnel decisions. Upon his departure, Parcells famously stated: "They want you to cook the dinner; at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries. Okay?" This was mainly in reference to an incident in the Patriots' war room during the 1996 Draft. Parcells wanted to draft defensive end
Tony Brackens Tony Lynn Brackens, Jr. (born December 26, 1974) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the University of Texa ...
with their first-round choice, but was vetoed by Kraft. They ultimately selected
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
wide receiver Terry Glenn.


New York Jets (1997−1999)

Although Parcells had decided to leave New England, his contract did not allow him to coach anywhere else. The New York Jets sought Parcells as head coach and general manager after a 4–28 record under Rich Kotite. To circumvent Parcells' contractual obligations, the Jets hired
Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...
(then the No. 1 assistant to Parcells) as the Jets coach, and then hired Parcells in an "advisory" role. New England threatened legal action against Parcells and the Jets, but NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue brokered a deal between the two sides, with New England releasing Parcells from his contract and the Jets giving New England a third- and fourth-round pick that year, a second-round pick the next year and a first-round draft choice the year after that. Jets owner
Leon Hess Leon Hess (March 14, 1914 – May 7, 1999) was an American businessman, the founder of the Hess Corporation and the owner of the New York Jets. Hess built an oil terminal in New Jersey after the Great Depression, building his first refinery i ...
gave Parcells complete control over football operations, the main sticking point in his dispute with Kraft.


1997–98

Parcells again orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in his first year with the Jets. In his first season with the Jets, the team barely missed the playoffs with a record of 9–7 (the Jets were 1–15 the year before Parcells arrived, and had won a total of 10 games in the previous three seasons combined). In
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, the Jets went to the playoffs with a current franchise-best 12–4 record, which was good enough for second place in the conference and earned the Jets their third home playoff game since moving to New Jersey in 1984 (their first home playoff game was against the New England Patriots following the 1985 season), but they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
in the
AFC Championship game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
.


1999

In
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, expectations were high for the Jets to go to the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
. However, quarterback
Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the H ...
ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Jets home opener and the season went downhill from there. After starting the season 1–6, the Jets won three straight and faced the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. Parcells emphasized the importance of not obtaining a "7th loss" but they did lose to the Colts and then to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
the following week. At 4–8, the Jets were in danger of finishing below .500. The Jets would finish 8–8, but out of the playoffs. In 1999, Parcells retired from football for the second time, vowing that he would not coach again. He remained with the Jets one more year as general manager. To date, he is the only Jets coach to leave the team with a winning record after coaching at least two seasons.


Dallas Cowboys (2003−2006)

Following three straight 5–11 seasons,
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
' owner Jerry Jones lured Parcells out of retirement and made him the head coach in 2003.


Earn the Star

Always known for deploying psychological tactics and strategies to get the most from his players, Parcells mandated upon his arrival in 2003 that to have the Cowboy star placed on the helmet was a privilege reserved for players that had made the team, not a right, and informed all rookies that regardless of their draft position, it was incumbent upon them to "earn the star." Jones enthusiastically embraced the idea, and supported Parcells' decision to have Cowboy equipment managers remove all of the star logos from rookie helmets. Since then, all drafted and UFA (undrafted free agent) rookies that report to the Cowboys must officially make the roster before having the star logo permanently placed on their helmet. The practice of "earning the star" has become a permanent fixture of Cowboy tradition, with all of Parcells' successors adopting the practice. As social media emerged, #EarnTheStar and #EarningTheStar became popular
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
hashtags A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-gener ...
for Cowboy fans and players.


2003

In his first season with the Cowboys, he led them to the playoffs with a 10–6 record (losing to the eventual NFC Champion
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
in the opening round), making him the first head coach in NFL history to guide four teams to the playoffs.


2004

The 2004 season was one of turmoil. Starting quarterback Quincy Carter was terminated for alleged drug use in favor of 40-year-old veteran
Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the H ...
, who had been brought to the Cowboys from the New York Jets by his former coach in the off-season. While a favorite of Coach Parcells, Testaverde proved ineffective as a starter. The Cowboys started strong, with victories against the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
and
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
, but injuries, older personnel, spotty play-calling, and persistent penalties hobbled the Cowboys, and they quickly fell off to a 3–5 record by midseason, finishing the season 6–10.


2005

The Cowboys improved their defense before the 2005 season with the additions of first-round draft picks
DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former football outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Troy University and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick in th ...
and Marcus Spears. Parcells drafted these players in hopes of jumpstarting the team's transition from the traditional 4–3 defense to a 3–4 defense, which Parcells had run in all of his previous stops. Jerry Jones also added a number of high-priced older veteran players, acquiring nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency, and linebacker Scott Fujita via the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
. On offense, the Cowboys felt the need to upgrade their passing game to complement their top 2004 draft pick, running back Julius Jones, and acquired quarterback Drew Bledsoe via free agency. During his tenure, Parcells made a point of signing players who had played for him in the past, including Bledsoe, Terry Glenn (with the Patriots), Testaverde, cornerback Aaron Glenn, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, and fullback Richie Anderson with the Jets. In 2005, the Cowboys went 9–7, missing the playoffs by one game.


2006

In 2006 the Cowboys signed controversial former
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
wide receiver Terrell Owens. Keyshawn Johnson was released and signed with the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
. Owens, whom Parcells never referred to by name, but rather as "The Player", was fairly successful with the team. In week 7 of the 2006 season, Parcells decided to replace veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe with fourth-year quarterback
Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
. The Cowboys were 6–4 with Romo as the starter. They finished the season with a 9–7 overall record but failed to win the
NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys (based in Arling ...
Division after a 23–7 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
on Christmas Day in week 16 followed by a loss to the last-place team in the
NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough r ...
, the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
in week 17. They were able to clinch a playoff berth as the 5th seed in the NFC, eventually losing 21–20 against the Seahawks in Seattle on January 6, on a botched hold by
Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
during a field goal attempt. Parcells would finish his Dallas stint with a 34–30 record and no playoff wins. Parcells' greatest accomplishment as Cowboys head coach was the development of quarterback Tony Romo. He signed Romo in 2003 and developed him into a Pro Bowl quarterback by 2006.


Third retirement

Parcells would have entered the final year of his contract with the Cowboys in 2007, and had been facing questions all year as to whether he would return to the Cowboys to coach his final season. With his 0–2 playoff record over four years as coach of Dallas, many had begun to wonder if the game had simply "passed him by." Immediately following the Cowboys' loss to the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
, Parcells said that he was unsure if he would return in 2007, and the rumors about Parcells' future escalated. On January 9, the '' Newark Star Ledger'' reported through anonymous sources that Parcells had contacted the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
about their available general manager position, but the Giants were not interested in Parcells' services. Parcells, the next day, quickly refuted any interest in the position, stating, "There is absolutely nothing to it. Whoever said it is a liar." On January 22, 2007, he announced his retirement as head coach of the Cowboys after 4 years, apparently ending his coaching career. Evidently, there are still questions as to his specific reasons for leaving the game. There were even reports that Parcells had been holding out for more money, and that Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones simply did not think Parcells's performance was worth the money he was demanding for the upcoming season. After retiring from coaching, Parcells became a studio analyst for
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. This was his fourth stint with the network, having worked there before accepting the job in Dallas, where he coached both the Dallas Cowboys and a little league team for charity. It was rumored that ESPN offered him a position on ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
'', but Parcells declined the opportunity. (It is also worth noting that ESPN still held a contract with Parcells as a broadcaster even as he coached the Cowboys.)


Miami Dolphins

On December 19, 2007, the
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
. ESPN reported the following day that he signed a four-year contract. Just a day prior, reports linking Parcells to the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...
' position of vice president of football operations were leaked. However, the following day the Falcons formally announced that Parcells had turned down the offer because of discussions with Miami. In the first season as Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Parcells fired head coach Cam Cameron, general manager
Randy Mueller Randy Mueller (born June 3, 1961) is an American football executive who currently serves as the director of pro personnel for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He previously served as the general manager for the National Football League's Miam ...
, along with a few assistant coaches, after a 1–15 finish in the 2007 season. With vacancies at the general manager and head coaching spots, he brought in Jeff Ireland to be the general manager and signed
Tony Sparano Anthony Joseph Sparano III (October 7, 1961 – July 22, 2018) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and is the only NFL head coach to have ...
as head coach. The new front office under Parcells then signed over 20 little-known players in the free-agent market. In the 2008 draft, they drafted offensive tackle
Jake Long Jake Edward Long (born May 9, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Michigan, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins first overall in the 2008 NFL ...
with the No. 1 overall pick, along with Phillip Merling,
Kendall Langford Kendall Arkel Langford (born January 27, 1986) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Hampton Pirates football, Hampton, and was drafted by the Dolphins in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He has also pl ...
,
Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. While there, Henne became only the second true freshman st ...
,
Lex Hilliard Lex Douglas Hilliard (born July 30, 1984) is a former American football running back and fullback. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Montana. Hilliard was one of the lar ...
, and Donald Thomas. They also signed undrafted free agents
Dan Carpenter Daniel Roy Carpenter (born November 25, 1985) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing college football for the University of Montana. He has also played for ...
and Davone Bess. They also released fan favorite
Zach Thomas Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Texas Tech University, and wa ...
, who would end up signing with the Dallas Cowboys, and traded star defensive end Jason Taylor to the Washington Redskins for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft. The Dolphins then went on to sign quarterback
Chad Pennington James Chadwick Pennington (born June 26, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Marshall, where he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, and was select ...
(drafted by Parcells in his Jets days), who had been cut by the Jets to make room for
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010 ...
. The Dolphins finished the 2008 season 11–5 and became
AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buf ...
champions when Pennington and the Dolphins defeated Favre and the Jets in the final game of the season. They finished with a 10-game improvement from the previous season, making the Dolphins one of two teams in NFL history to accomplish a 10-game turnaround, the other being the 1999 Indianapolis Colts. It was also the first time since 2001 that the Dolphins made the playoffs. However, they were routed in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens, 27–9. Parcells left the Dolphins in 2010.


Potential return to coaching

In March 2012,
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
head coach
Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
was suspended for the entire 2012 season by the NFL for not reporting a bounty system set up by his defense from 2009 to 2011. Upon his suspension, Payton asked his former mentor Parcells if he would be interested in filling the head coaching vacancy. On April 11, 2012, Parcells revealed in an interview with
Mike Tirico Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's ''Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play anno ...
that he had decided against joining the Saints but would help Payton in any way he could.


Head coaching record


College


NFL


Coaching tree

Parcells has worked under eight head coaches: * Dean Pryor:
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
(1964) * George Karras:
Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study ...
(1965) * Tom Cahill:
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
(1966-1969) * Bill Peterson:
Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...
(1970) * Larry Jones: Florida State (1971-1972) *
Steve Sloan Stephen Charles Sloan (born August 19, 1944) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1962 to 1965 and then played for two se ...
: Vanderbilt (1973-1974),
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
(1975-1977) *
Ray Perkins Walter Ray Perkins (November 6, 1941 – December 9, 2020) was an American football coach and player. He played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts. He later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including sti ...
:
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
(1979, 1981-1982) * Ron Erhardt:
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
(1980) Seventeen of Parcells' coaching assistants became head coaches in the NFL or NCAA: * Al Groh, Wake Forest (1981–1986),
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
(2000),
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
(2001–2009) *
Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...
:
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
(1991-1995),
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
(2000-present) *
Ray Handley Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...
,
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
(1991–1992) *
Tom Coughlin Thomas Richard Coughlin ( ; born August 31, 1946) is a former American football coach and executive. He was the head coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2015. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, both time ...
,
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
(1995–2002),
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
(2004–2015) * Walt Harris: Pittsburgh Panthers (1997–2004),
Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...
(2005–2006) * Chris Palmer,
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
(1999–2000) *
Romeo Crennel Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947) is a former American football coach, who was the senior advisor for football performance for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time coaching assistant to Bill Parcells, Cr ...
,
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
(2005–2008),
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
(2011, interim, 2012),
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...
(2020, interim) *
Eric Mangini Eric Anthony Mangini (born January 19, 1971) is a former American football coach and current television sports analyst. Mangini had been with the San Francisco 49ers since 2013 and served as the team's tight ends coach for two seasons before b ...
,
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
(2006–2008),
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
(2009–2010) *
Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
:
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
(2006–2021) *
Tony Sparano Anthony Joseph Sparano III (October 7, 1961 – July 22, 2018) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and is the only NFL head coach to have ...
,
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
(2008–2011),
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
(2014, Interim) *
Charlie Weis Charles Joseph Weis Sr. (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator ...
, Notre Dame (2005–2009),
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
(2012–2014) *
Todd Haley Richard Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach who is the current head coach and general manager for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). From 1997 to 2006, he had stints as the wide rec ...
,
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
(2009–2011) * Mike MacIntyre, San Jose State (2010–2012),
University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
(2013–2018), FIU (2022–present) *
Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New York Jets. He ...
: Miami Dolphins (2011, interim),
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
(2015–2018),
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
(2022–present) * Mike Zimmer:
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
(2014–2021) * Anthony Lynn:
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
(2017–2020) *
Freddie Kitchens Charles Frederick Kitchens Jr. (born November 29, 1974) is an American football coach who is a senior analyst for South Carolina. He was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and an assistant coach for the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, New ...
:
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
(2019) Two of Parcells' former players became a head coach in the NFL or NCAA: * Dan Campbell: Miami Dolphins (2015, interim),
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
(2021–present) *
Eddie George Edward Nathan George Jr. (born September 24, 1973) is an American football coach and former player who is the current head coach at Tennessee State. He played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily ...
:
Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenn ...
(2021–present) Ten of Parcells' coaches/executives became general managers in the NFL: *Bill Belichick: New England Patriots (2000–present) * Charley Armey: St. Louis Rams (2000-2005) *
Jerry Angelo Jerry Angelo (born c. 1949) is a former American football executive who was the general manager for the National Football League's Chicago Bears from 2001 to 2011. Prior to joining the Bears, Angelo spent 14 years overseeing Tampa Bay Buccaneers' ...
:
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
(2001-2011) *
Mike Tannenbaum Mike Tannenbaum (born February 14, 1969) is an American football reporter. He served as the executive vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins from 2015 to 2018. Prior to that, he served as the general manager for the New Yor ...
: New York Jets (2006-2012) * Jeff Ireland: Miami Dolphins (2008-2013) *
Scott Pioli Scott Pioli (born March 31, 1965) is an American football executive who most recently worked as the Assistant General Manager for the Atlanta Falcons. He was an NFL analyst for NBC Sports' '' Football Night in America'', NBC Sports Network's Pro ...
:
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
(2009-2012) * Trent Baalke:
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
(2011-2016),
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
(2020, interim, 2021–present) *
Chris Grier Christopher Grier (born March 24, 1970) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL), a position he has held since 2016. Having been with the organization since 2000, G ...
:
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
(2016–present) * Brian Gaine:
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...
(2018-2019) *
Joe Schoen Joseph "Joe" Schoen () (born July 11, 1979) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Schoen previously served as the assistant general manager for the Buffalo Bil ...
:
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
(2022-Present)


See also

* History of the New York Giants (1979–1993) * List of National Football League head coaches with 50 wins


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parcells, Bill 1941 births Living people People from Englewood, New Jersey People from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey People from Oradell, New Jersey People from Sea Girt, New Jersey People from Upper Saddle River, New Jersey River Dell Regional High School alumni Sportspeople from Manhattan Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Saratoga Springs, New York Players of American football from New York (state) Players of American football from New Jersey American football linebackers Wichita State Shockers football players Coaches of American football from New York (state) Coaches of American football from New Jersey Hastings Broncos football coaches Wichita State Shockers football coaches Army Black Knights football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Air Force Falcons football coaches New York Giants coaches New England Patriots coaches New York Giants head coaches New England Patriots head coaches New York Jets head coaches National Football League general managers New York Jets executives Dallas Cowboys head coaches Miami Dolphins executives Super Bowl-winning head coaches Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees National Football League announcers American racehorse owners and breeders