Bill Parcells is about to get the highest honors an NFL player or coach can receive. As the famous coach prepares for his induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he is looking back at his career and realizing that while he made a lot of great decisions, he does have a few regrets. If Parcells has one haunting memory from his coaching career, it is with the New England Patriots.
"I regret leaving New England. Had we done things differently...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 he might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently," Parcells told USA Today.
Patriots' fans remember Parcells as the team's jumper. He was reportedly negotiating a deal with the New York Jets before coaching the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Parcells did not even fly home with the team after the loss; he immediately went to New York. He was eventually succeeded by Pete Carroll in 1997 and then Bill Belichick would begin his reign in 2000.
Owner Robert Kraft admits that he played a large role in splitting with Parcells. While the two have since buried their feud, Kraft recognizes that there was a power struggled between the two as both men wanted equal say in the Patriots' final roster for the season.
"Look, I was a new owner. I had a lot of deft. I had stardust in my eyes. I had a Hall of Fame coach. I was green and new. And I don't think Bill had ever dealt with someone like myself. He had a contract that said he'd coach year to year. And that didn't make me feel secure. I think we would have been a great team together at a different time, me understanding what I understand now, this being my 20th season as an owner, and him being seasoned. I wish it could have worked out differently," Kraft said.
Parcells eventually coached the Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship game where they lost to Denver and then he stepped down as coach after the 1999 season. Parcells was able to turn the Patriots from a 9-39 team into one that was playing for the Super Bowl. New England has since gone on to win three Super Bowls.