Bill Parcells admits he regrets leaving Patriots too soon

Bill Parcells isn't the kind of man to admit many (if any) regrets publicly. The former New England Patriots coach may wear his New Jersey roots on his sleeve but not so his personal feelings.

That's why it was uncharacteristic for Big Tuna to admit that he left the Patriots after their forgettable Super Bowl XXXI loss after a power struggle with owner Robert Kraft and could only watch after his protege Bill Belichick took over — after a disappointing reign under Pete Carroll — and form an NFL dynasty which surpassed even Parcells' impressive accomplishments.

"I regret leaving New England. Had we done things differently ... " Parcells told USA Today. "I had a good young team there. I hated to leave that team, because I knew what we could do.

"I was absolutely too headstrong. And he might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently."

The Patriots have won three Super Bowls and reached two others under Belichick, who, without the New England job available, might have remained head coach of the New York Jets for more than a day before resigning and heading to Foxborough.

Parcells' surprising revelation that he left the Patriots — against his better judgement and after the Super Bowl loss to the Packers — never to reach the glorified status he had up until that point because Kraft wouldn't give Parcells final say on building the Patriots roster.

The well -respected Parcells would go on to good but not great seasons with the Jets and Cowboys before retiring. He won just one more playoff game and one more division title in seven post-Patriots seasons, both in 1998. That Jets team gave Denver a pretty good run in the AFC championship game but came up short and Parcells never living up to loftier expectations.

It's interesting to ponder whether the Patriots would have had a similar run over the last dozen years had Parcells stuck around longer? Or if Parcells would have even wanted to draft the mostly overlooked Tom Brady if he was in charge of the Patriots in 2000.

Parcells is a Pro Football Hall of Fame coach – he's being inducted this summer – but it's impossible to say if he could have achieved what Belichick has with the Patriots. 

At least one person in this saga has regrets.

Parcells blames Coughlin for kneel-down controversy

The Big Tuna has spoken and he says, Sorry Charlie, it was Tom Coughlin — not Greg Schiano — who was at fault for the big kneel-down controversy at the end the Giants-Buccaneers game Sunday.

Talking on Sirius/XM radio yesterday, former New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells laid the blame on his former assistant Coughlin for getting defensive about Schiano not submitting during the victory formation on the last play of the game.

"Well, I've seen it before.  I don't take exception to it," said Parcells.

While Parcells was critical of Coughlin scolding the former Rutgers coach at midfield after the the Buccaneers bum-rushed Eli Manning, he thinks the Giants quarterback is more than tough enough to get pushed on his backside.

"I just think he's a terrific player," Parcells told Chris "Mad Dog" Russo.  "Actually, I don't know Eli very well but I did run into him this winter after they won the Super Bowl.  And I told him that his performance in San Francisco where he took ... one of the worst beatings that I've ever seen a quarterback take in that game and he hung in there 'til the end."

"And I just told him that based on that performance alone he's won me over as a supporter full time," he said.  "It's like a fighter that keeps getting up,  You gotta root for him."

On Coughlin's televised on-field confrontation with the rookie NFL head coach Schiano after the issue, Parcells — a big Coughlin supporter — was less enthused.

"I think I would have handled it a little differently if I was on the other side," he said.  "I may have not called attention to it at that time and maybe made a phone call a little later in the next week."

When Tuna speaks, Giants fans listen.

Curtis Martin: Playing football 'just wasn't fun'

Curtis Martin is probably the last person who thought he would ever make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  In fact he was probably the last one to ever think he would play football at all.

The former New York Jets running back repeated what his childhood friends have been reminding him since being elected to the Hall of Fame months ago: 'Who would have dreamed this would ever happen?'

Not me, a humbled Martin said in a New York restaurant yesterday.

"Most of the people are surprised simply because I was the last person they thought would play football," Martin told a gathering of reporters inside the Manhattan eatery.  "Football was like a headache to me.  It was something I felt like I didn't have the time to do.  To me, it just wasn't fun."

Martin— who played only one year of high school football in a tough neighborhood of Pittsburgh at the urging of his mother— was asked when it changed for the fourth-leading rusher in NFL history.

"I don't think it ever changed," he said.  "I think I matured and I recognized the opportunity.  I've spoken previously about how I grew up and where I grew up at.  Football saved my life.  I don't know where I would be.  I don't know if I'd be alive if I hadn't played football."

Injuries hampered Martin's career at Pittsburgh but he busted out after getting drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 1995 NFL draft.

The Jets' greatest running back went to New York with Bill Parcells in 1998 but it wasn't an easy move.

"I didn't like New York at all," said Martin.  "Beyond not liking New York, I didn't like the Jets. . . I didn't want to play for, what was in my mind, the worst team ever.  I looked at the Jets as the bottom of the barrel.

"If Bill Parcells hadn't been in New York, I wouldn't have left the New England Patriots probably under any other circumstances.  I was willing to play for less to stay with the New England Patriots."

Martin ran for 14,101 career yards and will be inducted in Canton on Aug. 4— the culmination of an unlikely career.  Martin has come full circle and now believes it was meant to be.

"I may not have wanted to play, but I believe you have to do things," Martin said.  "You know the saying, 'You have to do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do.'  I didn't know how to do until I had football in my life."

Sean Payton to appeal year-long suspension; Parcells put on hold

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has decided to file today an appeal of his season-long suspension with the NFL, a person familiar with the decision said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press today on the condition of anonymity because the Saints have announced Payton's plan to appeal.

That person said the appeal will also ask NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his guidance on the parameters of the suspension.

Goodell suspended Payton, starting Sunday, for his role in the Bountygate program– which offered cash incentives for knocking opposing players out of the game.

At the NFL meetings this week in Florida, Goodell said  Payton could have  some contact with the team but would not go into detail.

"The decision to appeal is for Sean Payton to make and announce as he deems appropriate," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.  "If there are appeals, the commissioner will arrange for expedited hearings, as he stated at the league meetings."

There is no set timetable for the appeal or how long it will take to resolve which could affect whether or not Bill Parcells comes out of retirement.  Parcells said he would consider coaching the Saints if his former assistant and friend Payton was banned for a year.

Asked today, at a spring training game near his home in Jupiter, Fla., Parcells declined to answer any questions about coaching the Saints.

"I know better than that," he said.

Parcells, Payton and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis played a round of golf together earlier this week to talk about the team's situation and there was speculation they asked him if he was interested in helping out his pal Payton in the interim.

"We played golf," Parcells said after the game.  "We really didn't talk about the job.  They told me we'd be in touch."

Now, if the suspension is reduced, the likely hood of Parcells coming out of retirement for a short-term coaching gig seems to be a far-fetched solution.

The Saints have three candidates among the Saints assistants who could serve as interim coach during Payton's absence: defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael or offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.

Payton said any of the three would be good candidates but expressed concern about saddling them with the interim head coach's additional duties.

The NFL found Payton guilty of initially lying to officials about the bounty.

Payton apologized for his role in the program and took "full responsibility" for his part, but was punished with what many considered an over zealous commissioner.

The NFL claims as many as 27 players could be rounded up for sanctions in the scandal.

Parcells prefers Sainthood over Hall of Fame

Bill Parcells sounds like a man who would rather put personal friendship ahead of personal glory after saying he would help the New Orleans Saints— if they asked.

The former New York Giants and Jets head coach said he is waiting to hear his pal, Saints head coach Sean Payton, and the Saints make him an offer to coach the team— if Payton's year-long suspension is upheld.

"I had plenty of opportunities to do things with different teams, and I've turned them all down," Parcells said Wednesday afternoon.  "But this one is special.  This guy is like family to me.  And if I could help him, I would."

Parcells also put the kibosh on talk that the Hall of Fame's rules, that require coaches to be five years removed from the NFL to be considered for induction, would influence his decision to return to the sidelines.

"I'm not going to concern myself about something that may not happen," Parcells said.

Payton is deciding whether or not to appeal his season-long ban for his role in Bountygate— a program that gave Saints players cash incentives to knock opposing players out of games.

Meanwhile, the Saints head coach has tossed out the idea of having his mentor— Parcells— stand in as the interim coach while he is banned from the team.

"I don't know how this is going to play out," said the 70-year-old Parcells.  "I really don't know anything about the situation.  There's a lot of things going on here, and I would suspect it's going to take a while to sort it all out."

Both Parcells and Payton maintain that no job offer has been made but, on Tuesday, both men played a round of golf with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.  Parcells had never met Loomis before they hit the course.

"We literally did not talk about that job at all," said Parcells.  "The only thing he told me is, 'You're going to like this situation (in New Orleans).'  I know a few of their players, just a couple."

Parcells currently lives in Jupiter, Fla., and is always on an NFL team's head coaching radar when there is a vacancy. His last head coaching job was with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-06 and he served as an executive for the Miami Dolphins from 2008-10.  Last season, Parcells was an analyst for ESPN.

Payton was Parcells' assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in Dallas for three years before he was hired as the Saints head coach in 2006.

It sounds like the "interim" title in New Orleans won't bother the no-nonsense Parcells.  He would go in knowing it's a "one and done" deal and step aside when Payton returns.

Parcells has a knowledge of his protege's system and— with Drew Brees at quarterback— the Saints still have the core of a playoff team, so the Big Tuna won't just be babysitting a floundering team for the duration.

If the Saints call, the Hall can wait.

Bill "The Big Tuna" Parcells Now Dolphin-Free

Bill Parcells, a consultant to the Miami Dolphins, is taking his Team Rehab show on the road once again.  The well-traveled NFL head coach, general manager, consultant and talent evaluator's next gig will be under the studio lights at ESPN.

Parcells, who was with the Dolphins organization since 2007, will be joining ESPN for a third time as host of a program about the NFL draft.

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The taped hour-and-a-half special titled "Bill Parcells Draft Confidential" will give viewers inside look at the NFL draft process.  Parcells' thirty years of NFL experience will give fans an insider's perspective as how the draft works.

The 69 year-old team fixer-upper will break down how football teams evaluate players and "how difficult it is to draft successfully."

Parcells may want to explain to Dolphin fans how he let quarterback Matt Ryan slip through his hands a few years ago.  Instead, he drafted a great offensive tackle in Jake Long, but the bane of the Miami teams during his tenure was the lack of a good or injury-free signal-caller.

The Big Tuna, named for his once-rotund body and penchant for the sandwich, had a reputation as a great coach and team flipper.  He twice turned the three-win 1983 New York Giants into Super Bowl Champions during seven years,  and took the New England Patriots to another in 1996.

Parcells' magic touch started to fade after coaching the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys.  He left both teams in flux before moving to Miami as the V.P. of Football Operations.

The Dolphins were 11-5 his first year and won the AFC East title, but the team never met expectations the next two years. He passed the V.P. job to Jeff Ireland before last season and stayed on as consultant.

Where Parcells lands after this is any one's guess.  He has "retired" before due to health reasons or refusing to cow-tow to a flamboyant owner, but his football I.Q. is still in high demand.   Even the label 'egomaniac' won't scare away prospective suitors.

ESPN could keep Parcells on it's analyst roster.  He has broadcast experience and done it many times before.  Parcells worked with NBC for two years and  co-hosted a weekly show with Mike Francesa in New York, where he is still idolized by Giants fans.

It's a good bet Parcells will be netted by a struggling team needing a quick-fix and turnaround. The lure of the game is too strong for the coach.

It'll be interesting to hear Parcells' calculations on the Carolina Panthers first draft pick--quarterback or lineman?  The former linebackers-coach has a soft-spot for lineman.  Look how hard he rode Phil Simms and threw roses at L.T.'s feet during the Giants championship years.

I just wonder if Parcells regrets not taking Ryan and if he had taken the quarterback instead of Long, would he still be Miami?

The show airs Tuesday, April 26 at 9:30 ET.

Giants Host Dolphins at Meadowlands Practice Facility

The New York Giants invited the Miami Dolphins into their training facility tomorrow to help them prepare for the Dolphin's Sunday afternoon game against the Giants co-tenants, the New York Jets.   While the Jets head coach Rex Ryan was burying a jinxed football outside his team's practice facility yesterday, the Jets owner, Woody Johnson, was digging up negative feelings between the two New York teams who share one stadium.

Giants co-owner, John Mara said he didn't contact the Jets owner because he felt it was just a simple case of civility.   Jets fans think it sounds fishy that their New Meadowlands roommates would turn their practice field into a northern version of Sea World right before a big game against their AFC East division rivals.  All that's missing is Miami consultant--and former Giant and Jet coach--Bill "Big Tuna" Parcells performing a Shamu act.

The Giants agreed to allow the Dolphins team use of the indoor field almost a month ago.  Mara said he wishes he contacted the Jets before the invitation. The Dolphins head coach, Tony Sparano, is the Giants former defensive coordinator.

Johnson did phone Mara and voiced his displeasure at his alleged friend's version of "Three's Company." Mara said he told Johnson he wished he called first and said, "We have a long partnership that's going to last for many years and the last thing I want to do is get them upset about an issue like this."  Johnson has made no public comment.

Jets fans disagree.  They have always felt like illegal squatters in the Meadowlands. It goes back to the days of trying use green bunting to hide the blue walls of the old Giants Stadium to recent disagreements with the design of the new stadium before it was completed.

The fans claim they are the stadium's second-class citizens and are still irked by the "rigged" secret coin toss, which decided the team who would pop the cherry of the New Meadowlands Stadium by hosting the first regular season game.

Mara should have taken the Jets inferiority complex into consideration before making the Dolphins--one of the Jets sworn enemies--comfortable.  The Jets might view this as revenge for opening up a multi-stitch gash in Giants quarterback Eli Manning's head during last summer's pre-season game.  Ryan was asked if he was angry about the Giants' hospitality and only remarked, "Officially?  No."  The usually vocal coach then added,  "It's their facility, they can do anything they want with it."

Ryan wasn't so generous later and said, "I don't want anyone using our facility but us.  When we have the Super Bowl [in the Meadowlands] I'm going to make sure we're in it...I don't want anyone in the facility but us."

 While New York sports radio was burning with pissed Jets callers, the Giants players took it in stride.  "It's cool," said Giant wide-out, Steve Smith, "They'll bring a little South Beach love here."

Sparano brought the Dolphins to New York early, not so much as a sneak attack, but more of a bonding outing for his team.  They plan to see the Broadway show "Lombardi" and get acclimated with the cold weather. In an indoor practice field?  Mara also mentioned his son is an associate producer on "Lombardi."  Maybe the Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez--a noted Broadway buff--is a little jealous?

After all was said and done, the Jets and Giants owners made up.  In a Jets fan's warped vision, it is still a Giants town.  Forty-two years without a Super Bowl appearance can make a person greener than the Jets uniform.  Maybe the Jets ought to roll out the red carpet for the Philadelphia Eagles next week, right before they play the Giants.  Sanchez can take them to see "Elf."