Parcells not a gimme for Hall of Fame
A few weeks ago I asked a couple of reporters in the press box at Philadelphia if they thought Dallas coach Bill Parcells was a slam dunk for the Hall of Fame. They looked at me as if I proposed banning paid vacations.
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| Bill Parcells isn't necessarily a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (US Presswire) |
Now, do I think he was a good head coach? Absolutely. Do I think he was a great coach? At times, yeah. Do I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame? I don't know, and I'm not alone.
Three of the members of the Hall of Fame selection committee I spoke to Monday weren't all that sure about Parcells, either. They said they'd have to study his record more extensively before coming to a conclusion, and that's fair.
What isn't fair is to say he belongs in the Hall because he won two Super Bowls. Because he doesn't. Hey, Tom Flores won two Super Bowls. So did George Seifert. Jimmy Johnson did, too. I don't recall seeing those guys in Canton.
One reporter told me Parcells was different because he took two different organizations to Super Bowls. So he did. He took the Giants and he took New England. But that qualifies him for special consideration? Pardon me, but Mike Holmgren did the same thing. So did Dick Vermeil and Dan Reeves.
We don't talk about those guys with the reverence we reserve for Parcells, and I'm not sure why. But I am sure that having coached in New York -- the media center of the country and the headquarters of the NFL -- has something to do with it.
Parcells made his name with the Giants, and some writers who covered him and got to know him swear by the guy. And they're convinced that when his name comes up for selection he'll be chosen because he's precisely the kind of coach who belongs in Canton.
Except his name already did come up for selection. Twice. Once in 2001. Again in 2002. And he was rejected after becoming a finalist. Of course, that was after he promised he never would coach again.
Then he accepted a job with the Cowboys.
When he was hired he told the Dallas media, "You are what your record is," and I couldn't agree more. He was 34-32 with the Cowboys, and he didn't win a playoff game. In fact, he hasn't won a road playoff game since 1990.
OK, so he took four different teams to the playoffs. No coach in NFL history has done that. He turned around a New York Giants franchise that had one winning season the previous decade. He had the New England Patriots in the playoffs two seasons after they were 2-14. He turned a 1-15 New York Jets team into a 12-4 Super Bowl contender within two seasons. And he had Dallas in the playoffs after the Cowboys turned in three consecutive 5-11 finishes.
That counts for something. In fact, it will count for a lot. And look for Parcells acolytes to make impassioned pleas on his behalf, citing that information.
