Parcells talks about Rex, Denver 98...

[Matt39]

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/columns/story?columnist=oconnor_ian&id=6036077

Once upon a time, Bill Parcells was the larger-than-life figure who saved the New York Jets from themselves, driving a hoax of a franchise to the brink of the Super Bowl. So maybe it was fitting that Parcells gave the Jets one last gift.

Maybe it was fitting that he notarized a candidate named Rex Ryan.

"I was very impressed with Rex when I met with him," Parcells said Tuesday night by phone. "I could just sense that, 'Hey, this guy's going to have a chance.'"

This was three years ago, when Parcells was the executive vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins and a man in dire need of a head coach. He sat down with Ryan and discovered a kindred spirit, a football lifer born in Oklahoma but one projecting that Parcellsian Jersey Guy vibe.

Although Bill Parcells (shown with Jets owner Woody Johnson) wants none of the credit, his scouting report on Rex Ryan to Mike Tannenbaum helped land Ryan in Jersey.

If Parcells hadn't shared a strong working relationship with his former aide in Dallas, Tony Sparano, he likely would have hired Ryan on the spot.

"Yes, that's correct," Parcells said.

He went with Sparano, breaking Ryan's heart if not his resolve. A year later, after Eric Mangini went poof in the night, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum solicited his mentor's official scouting report on the Baltimore defensive coordinator with a big plan and a bigger mouth.

Parcells told his protégé he liked Rex and his pedigree, as in a lot, and Tannenbaum took it to the bank. On Jan. 21, 2009, the Jets made Ryan one of the franchise's Mount Rushmore hires, right there with Weeb Ewbank, Joe Namath and Bill Parcells.

"I had a fierce rivalry with Rex's father when I was coaching the Giants," Parcells said, "but I held Buddy in high regard. What made Buddy a dangerous adversary was that he knew what he was looking for personnel-wise, and Rex is the same way. That's a pretty good head start for Rex because there are quite a few coaches in this league who don't know what they're looking for."

No, Parcells didn't believe he was staring in the mirror when he met Ryan, a candidate who counted his prospective employer among his coaching idols. During Rex's two stunning years in New York, he's often been cast as a cross between his father and Parcells.

Like Parcells, Ryan arrived as an imposing presence who believed in himself and his ability to elevate a downtrodden team with the force of his will.

"But when I interviewed him it wasn't so much Rex that struck me as [it was] guys like Rex," Parcells said. "Guys who grew up in football like Bill Belichick, guys whose fathers were coaches. ... Those guys are just different. They get it. They have a great understanding of things that a lot of people who haven't been in football their whole lives don't have, and Rex was one of those guys.

Parcells and QB Vinny Testaverde led Gang Green to the AFC title game in 1999, only to come up short at Mile High Stadium against John Elway's Broncos.

"Rex is quite straightforward, and he has a passion for the game, but I think in some other ways he's entirely different from me. He's his own guy, and there are all sorts of different personalities that have won in this league. All that matters is he tries to give his players a good design, and that's really what coaching is. Give your players a chance with a good design and get them to execute it and play hard, and that's what Rex has done very well."

Parcells did all of that for the Jets, needing two seasons to turn Rich Kotite's 1-15 into a 12-4. Including a playoff victory over Tom Coughlin's Jaguars, the 1998 Jets had won 11 of 12 heading into the conference championship game in Denver, their lone defeat a one-point loss at Indianapolis.

Long before Rex Ryan was a glimmer in anyone's eye, Parcells had dramatically altered the Jets' culture. He allowed their weary fan base to believe that Super Bowl III didn't have to be their one-and-done day in the sun.

The Jets had the Broncos down 10-0 in the third quarter, and Vinny Testaverde was outdueling John Elway as clearly as Mark Sanchez outdueled Tom Brady in Foxborough, Mass. But other Jets kept dropping the ball, the winds picked up, and suddenly Elway became Elway again, leaving Parcells a ghostly shade of pale as he stood outside the losers' Mile High locker room, hunched and beaten and begging the writers to temper their interrogation.

"You're talking about my saddest day in professional football," Parcells recalled a dozen years later. "If I had to make a list, that loss would be No. 1, and Tony Romo fumbling that snap in Seattle would be No. 2."

Over the phone, when reminded that his Jets surely would've beaten Atlanta in the Super Bowl, a team they had blown out in the regular season, Parcells lowered his voice to a whisper. He sounded as though he were back on the losing side at Mile High, reminding everyone of how many things would have to go right for the Jets to return to the final four the following year.

"It was such a devastating loss, it's hard to explain how I felt," Parcells said. "I'm sure it's how Bill Belichick felt last Sunday. I'm sure every coach gets to a place where you think you can go to the next spot, and you don't get to go. It takes a lot of blood to get back there, and those windows can close fast.

"We were winning but they don't pay off halfway through the race. They pay off at the finish line, and we didn't finish."

Testaverde popped his Achilles' in the 1999 opener, and that was that. A lifetime later, with their team booked for Pittsburgh and a shot at Super Bowl XLV, Jets fans want to know if Rex Ryan can finish the job.

Parcells can't offer a Joe Willie guarantee; he swears he's no prophet. At 69, Parcells is merely a Miami consultant who still gets enough of a rush out of pro football to keep the possibility of one last coaching comeback alive, if barely.

"I've coached my last game," he said. "But I've said that before."

For now, Parcells will assume the role of the anxious fan who can't wait for Sunday's kickoff. He's intrigued by the psychology of Jets-Steelers because, he said, "there's a positive psychology on both sides.

"The Jets know they can win in Pittsburgh because they've already done that this year. But the Steelers know they have to be at their best because they've already lost to the Jets at home. It's like Ali-Frazier the second time, when Ali knew Frazier was capable of beating him."

Parcells will not be openly pulling for the Jets. As a father confessor to dozens of coaches around the league, Parcells has friends on both sides of the aisle.

Only there's no denying his link to Ryan. Parcells wants it known that he takes no credit for Rex's development, or even for Tannenbaum's decision to hire him.

But when Ryan was struggling in the middle of last season, he ignored AFC East protocol and called a certain Dolphins executive for help. In effect, Parcells advised the man he nearly hired to expand his voice on the offensive side of the ball and to become more of a head coach.

Rex Ryan has become more of a head coach than anyone could've guessed, not to mention the embodiment of Bill Parcells' last great call for the Jets.

[CTM]

i still remember being up 10-0 and knowing all we had to do is hold on and we'd beat Atlanta the next week. I has sad

[Jetsfan80]

Thanks Matt. The 98 reference is a good one. I think that team overachieved bigtime.

[Klecko73isGod]

i still remember being up 10-0 and knowing all we had to do is hold on and we'd beat Atlanta the next week. I has sad

I was literally packing my bags.

[Sperm Edwards]

Translation:

"I, Bill Parcells the super-genius, am really the one responsible for the Jets getting to the AFC Championship Game for 2 years in a row."

[Bleedin Green]

Translation:

"I, Bill Parcells the super-genius, am really the one responsible for the Jets getting to the AFC Championship Game for 2 years in a row."

So how many "I'm not taking any credit" were there for every time he mentioned one of: (1) interviewing Rex and knowing he was awesome, (2) telling Mikey T he was awesome and to hire him, (3) telling Rex how he should act in order for him to become a super-awesome head coach?

The over-under is 1:3.

[Lupz27]

Saddest day of watching football for me ever! Last year sucked balls, but I knew 1998 was our year I felt it, we would have blown the doors of Atlanta for the 2nd time, good dam Keith Byars, Alex Van Dyke and the rest of the bunch who fumbled 7 ******* times.

I have the same belief that this is our year and that it will end the way it was supposed to in 1998.

[JiFtheOracle]

STOP THE PRESS!!!!

You mean to tell me the great legendary Bill Parcells approves of Rex Ryan's ways? Get out of town. Cant be. Rex is a fat stupid loud mouth moron.

"Rex is quite straightforward, and he has a passion for the game, but I think in some other ways he's entirely different from me. He's his own guy, and there are all sorts of different personalities that have won in this league. All that matters is he tries to give his players a good design, and that's really what coaching is. Give your players a chance with a good design and get them to execute it and play hard, and that's what Rex has done very well."

[T0mShane]

<3 Parcells. The only reason (other than Namath) that the NYJ are relevant is Bill Parcells. You dudes are homos.

[BP]

STOP THE PRESS!!!!

You mean to tell me the great legendary Bill Parcells approves of Rex Ryan's ways? Get out of town. Cant be. Rex is a fat stupid loud mouth moron.

"Rex is quite straightforward, and he has a passion for the game, but I think in some other ways he's entirely different from me. He's his own guy, and there are all sorts of different personalities that have won in this league. All that matters is he tries to give his players a good design, and that's really what coaching is. Give your players a chance with a good design and get them to execute it and play hard, and that's what Rex has done very well."

It's amazing isnt it? I highly doubt he would be saying all this had the Jets been one and done.

This is in poor taste by Parcells. he should just stfu and stay out of the spotlight.

[Sperm Edwards]

<3 Parcells. The only reason (other than Namath) that the NYJ are relevant is Bill Parcells. You dudes are homos.

Parcells gave us Bradway who gave us Herm.

[BP]

<3 Parcells. The only reason (other than Namath) that the NYJ are relevant is Bill Parcells. You dudes are homos.

True! but he isnt what he once was. he cant coach anymore, it showed in Dallas. but he definitely was the most important person (next to Rex of course) to this organization in the last 15 years.

[T0mShane]

Parcells gave us Bradway who gave us Herm.

That was hurtful to read. Must you demonize ALL my heroes!?

[BP]

Parcells gave us Bradway who gave us Herm.

Do you know that I have that huge anti Herm post you made in response to nyjunc back in 2007 saved to word on my old computer?

[T0mShane]

True! but he isnt what he once was. he cant coach anymore, it showed in Dallas. but he definitely was the most important person (next to Rex of course) to this organization in the last 15 years.

True. I had become resigned to the fact that we'd always be a Joe Walton/Bruce Coslet/Rich Kotite franchise...and then there was Parcells.

I'm going to break into song now. BBL.

[Sperm Edwards]

Do you know that I have that huge anti Herm post you made in response to nyjunc back in 2007 saved to word on my old computer?

Oh man, I'm almost afraid to read it.

[BP]

Oh man, I'm almost afraid to read it.

I dont want your wife calling you a loser again while you're typing those long posts. no worries.

[Sperm Edwards]

I dont want your wife calling you a loser again while you're typing those long posts. no worries.

Nothing can stop that. Resistance is futile.

[Klecko73isGod]

<3 Parcells. The only reason (other than Namath) that the NYJ are relevant is Bill Parcells. You dudes are homos.

You don't deserve any rep for that.

[visajets]

Bill Parcells came here riding the NYGIANTS success. He left us heartbroken. The AFC Championship blunder by Keith Byars and poor play calling led to a loss in Denver. Oh did I mention he also left us in salary cap hell. I prefer Rex Ryan.

[PatriotReign37]

Translation:

"I, Bill Parcells the super-genius, am really the one responsible for the Jets getting to the AFC Championship Game for 2 years in a row."

BP aint gonna like this.

Just sayin

[JiFtheOracle]

It's amazing isnt it? I highly doubt he would be saying all this had the Jets been one and done.

This is in poor taste by Parcells. he should just stfu and stay out of the spotlight.

Of course not. If the Jets lost...everyone and their mother would be up Rex's a$$ and you'd be leading the charge around this joint

[RutgersJetFan]

I highly doubt he would be saying all this had the Jets been one and done.

I highly doubt a reporter would have called him about the subject at all if the Jets had been one and done.

[BP]

Of course not. If the Jets lost...everyone and their mother would be up Rex's a$$ and you'd be leading the charge around this joint

Nope, I would have taken a vacation that would have been trolling. and I would have agreed with you had I done that.

[carpetbeggar]

The '98 AFC Championship loss hurt like hell, but the first game next season when Vinny went down DEVASTATED ME. I really don't think I've fully recovered mentally from that day Vinny got knocked out. I had myself totally convinced that the Super Bowl was ours that '99 season.

The only high point was going to the Monday Night Game in Foxboro in November that year for The Jets-Patsies without tickets and lo and behold who would walk up to us outside and hand us tickets to the game for free, injured Patsie RB Derek Cullors lol. It was so cold that night, but at least got to see Ray Lucas and The Jets beat New England.

[Jetfan13]

It's amazing isnt it? I highly doubt he would be saying all this had the Jets been one and done.

This is in poor taste by Parcells. he should just stfu and stay out of the spotlight.

BP telling BP to stfu...interesting

[Maxman]

"It was such a devastating loss, it's hard to explain how I felt," Parcells said. "I'm sure it's how Bill Belichick felt last Sunday.

LOL!!!

[THE ILK]

MEVIS!