| Shame on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ownership. And
shame on Bill Parcells. Both have lost respect, and rightfully so, in the eyes of the
players, coaches and fans around the NFL after their most recent fiasco.
When the Glazer family went behind the backs of their general manager, Rich McKay, and
their head coach, Tony Dungy, to negotiate a deal that would bring Parcells to Tampa, it
lowered itself to the level of the filthiest politician. As did Parcells.
The fact that the deal fell through at the last minute when Parcells suddenly had a
change of heart does little to make up for the blatant backstabbing that occurred. It isn’t
that Parcells and the Bucs were wrong to try to make a deal — it’s just the way
they went about it that stinks to high heaven.
One of the worst-kept secrets around the NFL during much of the season was the rumor
that Dungy would be fired if the Bucs didn’t make the playoffs or, even if they did
make the playoffs, if they didn’t advance to the Super Bowl. A highly respected coach
who brought more success to the Tampa Bay organization than any other coach in the
franchise’s 26-year history, Dungy was ultimately fired due to his inability to take
his team to the Super Bowl. Fair enough.
But certainly, the Glazers should’ve shown more respect to a coach who helped
build a once-woeful franchise into a perennial playoff contender. It’s one thing to
refuse to negotiate a contract extension for Dungy before the season — that was their
prerogative — but it’s another thing to blatantly negotiate with Parcells before
telling Dungy of his fate.
Look, I’m not so naïve as not to realize that these kinds of deals are brokered
behind the scenes all the time. But the way that this one ended in such an ugly fashion is
truly a disgrace.
The Glazers realized that they needed to have a big name to succeed a popular and
successful coach like Dungy. And it’s only natural that they turned to Parcells, one
of the greatest coaches in NFL history. A man who won two Super Bowl titles with the New
York Giants, took the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl and brought the New York Jets
one game away from a Super Bowl berth during his previous coaching stints.
In fact, once Parcells’ name was attached to the Bucs’ job, all other
candidates, including the most logical, ex-Florida coach Steve Spurrier, removed
themselves from consideration.
However, Parcells has also proven to be a man with a big ego, who likes to be flattered
with praise and who likes the idea of being a franchise’s savior. But he has a
history of heart problems, and at age 60, it’s questionable how much energy he could
expend in a high-pressure, 24-7 type of job.
He also likes to be in control, and it appears as if the Glazers were willing to give
him everything he wanted. He was going to be head coach but also have final say in
personnel matters, including the draft and free agency. He had the Glazers make contact
with Jets assistant vice president/director of pro player personnel Mike Tannenbaum and
offer him the general manager job filled so capably by McKay for the past 10 years.
At the same time, Parcells was apparently contacting former assistant coaches, even
ones who were currently under contract, in attempts to assemble a new staff.
It appears Parcells was trying to take advantage of a loophole in the system that
prevents a team from trying to hire coaches and officials under contract to other teams.
The loophole being that Parcells wasn’t officially the Bucs’ head coach. Of
course, this angered the teams who were rumored to have coaches talking to Parcells, and
the NFL actually sent a letter to Tampa Bay warning it that it could be punished for
Parcells’ actions.
Things progressed so far that Tannenbaum actually flew to Tampa and introduced himself
to management and staff at the Bucs’ offices. Then a funny thing happened. Parcells
turned down the job. Only he knows the reason why. But here are a couple of theories:
• He was worried about the perception that he had gone behind the back of a
well-respected fellow coach (Dungy) and didn’t feel comfortable taking over under
those conditions.
• He heard McKay voice his concerns about the deal and realized that it would be
difficult to work with McKay and many others in the organization who were unhappy with how
Dungy was treated.
• He was worried about his legacy, which is full of accomplishments on the field
but clouded by questionable maneuvers off the field, and decided to extricate himself from
the situation before it left a black mark on his record.
The aftermath has left the Bucs embarrassed and desperately searching for a new head
coach, knowing full well that Dungy has already signed a new deal to lead the Indianapolis
Colts. McKay is heading the search for a new coach and has said he will take his time and
not hire anyone until after the Super Bowl.
Parcells, on the other hand, realizes that he has likely coached his final game in the
NFL, having turned off any potential suitors not only for his dirty dealing with the
Glazers but for ultimately backing out of the deal — the second time he has left the
Buccaneers standing at the altar. Remember, he did basically the same thing to Hugh
Culverhouse, the Bucs’ previous owner, after the 1991 season when he agreed in
principle to a lucrative deal before suddenly turning it down.
Now, all that is left for Parcells is his NFL legacy. He’s a finalist for a second
straight year for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 2002 inductees will be announced Feb.
2. Some have speculated that Parcells bailed out on Tampa Bay because he didn’t want
to wait any longer before being enshrined. It’ll be interesting to see if this latest
fiasco influences the voters’ decision, at least for this year. |
