Bill Parcells spent four seasons as the Patriots’ head coach. (Photo by Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The way Bill Parcells and Robert Kraft split was awkward and ugly.
Parcells helped lift the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, the franchise’s second trip to the Super Bowl (there would be many more to come). But Parcells wasn’t happy that he didn’t have personnel control over the team and it was speculated for many weeks before the Super Bowl that he wanted to join the Jets for the following season. Parcells was reportedly in contact with the Jets the week leading up to the Super Bowl, which was confirmed by hotel phone records.
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It took decades for the relationship between the Patriots and Parcells to completely heal. That’s what made the announcement Tuesday that Parcells would be inducted into the Patriots’ hall of fame notable. For a while, both sides reuniting for such an honor seemed impossible.
Kraft made the announcement on Tuesday, saying he expedited the process “so he can enjoy the ceremony.” Parcells will turn 84 years old in August. Kraft told the media that Parcells accepted.
Parcells was the Patriots’ coach for only four years, but he turned the franchise into an AFC champion. With quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the Patriots went 11-5 in 1996 and won the AFC title game. The Patriots fell to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, but in many ways some of the groundwork that Parcells laid in those years led to the Patriots’ dynasty under Belichick later on.
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While Parcells going into the team’s hall of fame is justified, getting there took some time for both sides. When Parcells left the Patriots, it was one of the nastiest splits in NFL history.
When Parcells was New England’s coach he had a dispute with Kraft over personnel control, which led to the famous quote: “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.” After a week of distractions surrounding the Jets’ interest in Parcells leading up to Super Bowl XXXI, Parcells didn’t travel back with the team following the Packers loss.
Parcells tried an end around to get to the Jets, agreeing to join the team as a consultant and not its coach — Parcells’ defensive coordinator Bill Belichick was supposed to be the head coach in that arrangement — a move the Patriots called out and the NFL overruled. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue brokered a deal in which Parcells joined the Jets and the Patriots got four draft picks including a first rounder.
Over time, the hard feelings started to subside. Parcells reportedly said he regretted leaving New England. Parcells went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Patriots had unprecedented success with Belichick.
Now, with Kraft and Parcells both in their 80s, they can officially put that divorce behind them when the coach gets added to the team’s hall of fame.
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