Parcells will regret his decision to retire

By Andy Targovnik  |   Friday, January 26, 2007  |  Comments( 38 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Bill Parcells' recent retirement announcement wasn't just surprising to Dallas Cowboys fans.

It even caught Mike Francesa, Parcells' close friend, off guard. Francesa, who co-hosts New York's most popular talk radio show, Mike and the Mad Dog , was on the air when the news came down on Monday; he was taken aback.

"I spoke to Bill on Friday (before he resigned on Monday)," Francesa said. "If you would have asked me after I hung up with him, I would have guessed he was coming back. So this surprises me."

Francesa, who also hosts a Sunday morning, nationally syndicated radio show, The NFL Now, subsequently spoke with Parcells after the news was announced.

"He said he was comfortable with his decision," Francesa said.

Francesa then added one very important insight about his longtime friend.

"For a guy who is so decisive when it comes to everything else, when it comes to these types of decisions, he sure changes his mind an awful lot."

But did we really need Francesa to tell us that?

Just look at Parcells' history.

In 1992, he backed out of a handshake agreement to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving them high and dry.

And after walking away from the New York Jets in 2000, he confidently told the press, "I've coached my last game. This is the end of my coaching career."

He wasn't being disingenuous. At the time, he probably believed it.

But after a two-year hiatus from the sidelines, Parcells got the itch. He could be around the NFL all he wanted, either in a front office or as a broadcaster, but it wasn't the same as being on that sideline and competing.

Parcells has always said, "Coaches coach."

But even with his penchant for coming and going from jobs, this decision to walk away from the Cowboys was still a little shocking.

Parcells always likes to say, "You are what your record says you are." And those aren't empty words. He believes that. Although he has clearly left the Cowboys in better shape than when he arrived, the 65-year-old was brought to Dallas to win a Super Bowl. The bottom line is that 34-32 with an 0-2 playoff record doesn't come close to cutting it. So by Parcells' own definition, his four-year run in Dallas was an abject failure.

If the Cowboys were on the decline, his decision would be simpler to understand. But in a weak conference, Dallas is not that far away from making a run at the Super Bowl. And because of his age, there's a chance Parcells will never coach again. So it came to reason that he would try to squeeze out one more year.

He probably did everything to psych himself up in order to give it one more try. But in the end, he just didn't feel he could.

But when September rolls around, will Parcells get that familiar itch? He can do all the consulting and television analysis he wants, but if the Cowboys are competitive next year, based on his history of indecision, is there any doubt that he won't regret this last choice?

He said it himself: "Coaches coach."

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CommentsComments: 38  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
bruce		10:59 AM
01/26/2007
YES,when dallas is in the nfc championship game next year and possibly the super bowl,bill will miss the game but as a dallas fan...
No.2
Bill		06:17 PM
01/26/2007
The cowboys are on the decline. The last two games were embarrasing to someone like Parcells in that the team had no discipline...
No.3
RED BARON		12:20 AM
01/27/2007
Bruce you have no hope with the cowgirls... Look at all the posts you get. Maybe 2 or 3 an article. Come to the dark side Bruce,...
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