Bill Parcells: Retirement Part 4
The 65 year old coach of the Dallas Cowboys, in his fourth tour of NFL head coaching has made an announcement that has already been made 3 times before.
“I am retiring from coaching football,” Parcells said in a written statement. “I want to thank (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones for their tremendous support over the last four years. Also, the players, my coaching staff and others in the support group who have done so much to help. Dallas is a great city and the Cowboys are an integral part of it. I am hopeful that they are able to go forward from here. “
The legendary coach also retired from jobs coaching the New York Giants, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.
He led the Giants to 2 super bowl victories, in 1986 and 1990 while coaching the team for 7 years from 1983-90. He retired after their super bowl win but returned to coaching just 3 years later with New England.
He led New England to the 1996 AFC Championship, and a Super Bowl appearance but coached them for only 4 seasons before retiring for the second time. That retirement didn’t even last a season though, he returned in 1997 with the division rival New York Jets.
He went to the 1998 AFC Championship game with the Jets, but his team failed to meet Super Bowl expectations in 1999. Afterwards he retired from that job but would remain with the team for one last year with the Jets as General Manager.
The Tampa Bay Bucs expressed interest in the 2 time super bowl champion after the 2001 season when they let go of Tony Dungy. He appeared ready to take that job, but eventually backed out. He got lured back into the game by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones though, and started coaching the Cowboys in 2003.
His teams never lived up to expectations though in the big D. He made the playoffs in 2003, but lost in the first round to Carolina. After a 6-10 2004, the Cowboys went 9-7 in 2005 missing the playoffs by just one game. Another first round loss in 2006 sent him back to the retirement block.
I wonder if he is done for good, or if he will be back once again. I don’t think he will be coaching again next year, but there is a chance that this could be a short hiatus. If he’s gone for 3 years again, i’d say the chances are pretty good that he wont come back.
Also, one interesting thing i’d like to add is that each of his jobs have been more unsucessful than the preceding jobs. He won 2 super bowls with the Giants, only went to 1 as a Patriot, only made the AFC Championship game with the Jets, and failed to advance past the first round with Dallas.
