Parcells knew what he had with Patriots
Sixteen years after Bill Parcells left the New England Patriots, the longtime NFL coach wishes he hadn’t done so.
Parcells, 71, coached the Patriots in 1993-1996, leading the franchise to their second Super Bowl appearance in his final season. New England lost to the Green Bay Packers 35-21 in New Orleans, and Parcells departed shortly after for the New York Jets.
When he left New England, Parcells said it was because he didn’t have any final say over roster decisions. Also, a power struggle with owner Robert Kraft proved to be too much to handle for Parcells, who led the New York Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990 and will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
“I regret leaving New England,” 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 [Kraft] might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently.”
Without Parcells, the Patriots turned to Pete Carroll, who went 27-21 in three seasons while Parcells finished 29-19 during the same span with the Jets, including an appearance in the 1998 AFC Championship Game.
New England is now considered one of the NFL’s model franchises as it has reached the Super Bowl five times since the 2001 season and won three (2001, 2003, 2004).
But despite the Patriots’ championship success over the past decade, Kraft agrees with Parcells about their relationship in the mid-1990s.
“It would have been pretty special,” Kraft said. “We were just coming at it from different times.
And so much in life is timing. But, in the end, we have a great relationship today. I have great respect for him. He did a great deal for our franchise. And I will forever be grateful for that.”
One has to wonder, though, if Parcells regrets leaving New England because he had to later coach Terrell Owens in Dallas.
First time
Arkadelphia’s Ken Duke, 44, won his first PGA Tour victory Sunday after beating Chris Stroud in a playoff at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.
Golf.com’s headline: “The 44-Year-Old Virgin”
No word on whether Duke yelled “Yooooooooow, Kelly Clarkson!” at his victory party.
No fish
Scott Hanson of The Seattle Times thinks there’s something fishy going on with the Seattle Mariners, who have been one of baseball’s worst teams over the past decade.
“After all, they could have hooked a [Mike] Trout and let a [Mike] Carp get away. So maybe it’s no coincidence that Kevin Bass hit .391 in his career against the Mariners or that Tim Salmon made a habit of victimizing them, hitting 25 homers against Seattle.”
Quote of the day
“Nobody remembers the losses. People remember the victories. And I don’t want to remember that loss.” Rafael Nadal, who lost to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis in the first round at Wimbledon
Sports, Pages 16 on 06/25/2013