Skip to main content

The Big Tuna: The Drama Continues

By
The Bill Parcells soap opera continues this week, and not for the reasons you might expect. Sure, three coaches in the NFL have just been axed, and more are likely to follow, and normally when you hear about coaching opportunities, a huge shadow looms over each: Parcells (although the other Bill, Cowher, is starting to compete). The latest drama is on his success with the Miami Dolphins as the head of football operations. Turns out, his contract is unique in that if the owner sells the team, he can walk away, and be fully paid for his whole contract. So, the hand wringing begins: will he stay or won't he?

This is a guy who twice put his hall of fame election on hold by refusing to stay unretired and come out to restore respectability to a franchise, so who's to say he won't again? He's had the magic touch, both as a coach and an executive, for now five major NFL franchises. He brought the New York Giants two Superbowl rings. He brought the Patriots to a Superbowl. He brought the Jets to the AFC Championship. He restored a winning tradition in Dallas, and brought them back to the playoffs. And now, in Miami, he has completed a 1-season turnaround that is unheard of, going from worst team to the playoffs in a single season.

And yet, every one of those teams he brought success to lived with the drama of Parcells. He accepted the job with the Jets the day before he coached their arch-enemy,the Patriots, in the Superbowl...and let the media know. Think that was a distraction? He jilted the Buccaneers so many times in the 90's while with the Giants, they had to enlist in self-help programs. He flirted so blatantly with the Cowboys, it made reality TV look tame by comparison.

Y'know, I've actually accidentally become a Parcells observer. I attended Superbowl XXV, where Parcells won his Superbowl ring. I lived in New England in the early '90's, watching him take over the local Patriots and change them from a laughingstock to the building blocks of the dynasty they became. I watched him ressurect Vinny Testaverde with the Jets. And suffered horribly when he came to put his stamp on my beloved Cowboys. What he has accomplished in Miami, though, is truly amazing: taking over a historically bad team, hiring a first-time head coach (his line coach from the Cowboys), changing 2/3 of the team to "Parcells guys," and then just going and playing in one of the most competitive divisions in football (the Pats went 11-5, playing in the same division, and couldn't make the playoffs it was so tough), only to win it?

Most people eat crow in this situation. I may be heading for a Tuna sandwich.

So, saddle up and ride: we're in a for a long offseason of "what will he do?" Will Parcells grab the reigns of the legendary Silver and Black to finally return them to their commitment to excellence? Or will he stay in South Florida, to continue his ressurection? Or will he be the prodigal son, returning to the Big Apple to take over Gang Green?

Stay tuned...


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loyalty Review: Kohl's Yes2You

By
 As some of you know, I've spent over 15 years in the customer loyalty space. So, when I come across a new retail loyalty program, I can't help but see the pluses and minuses. After this many years, it's kind of ingrained. Periodically, I'll share my thoughts with you. Today, it's Kohl's turn under the scope. Let's have a look, shall we? I've divided the review up into three sections: what's good about the program, what's bad about the program, and what I'd change about it. That last one has some actual value: I charged hundreds of dollars per hour for loyalty program consulting, and had over a dozen clients, before I moved to JustAnswer FT. But, being a pandemic and all, I'm giving it away for free here. Kohl's, you're welcome. Here we go! The Good Sign up is opt in Seems odd to praise Kohl's for this, but in department store loyalty, this is a rarity, and a smart one. It means the customers who are opted in are already prime...
1 comment
Read more

Revisiting Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 1

By
I recently started rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning. I have nothing but fond memories of the original run in the 1980s, given how excited I was for a new Trek series in my lifetime (I had only reruns and the movies to stoke my Trek interest), and it recently occurred to me that, while I diligently consumed every TNG episode, I had not experienced the series since it's original run.  Why did I do this? Well, a few reasons: With the triumphant return of Sir Patrick Stewart to the smaller screen as the venerable Jean Luc Picard , I thought it would be interesting to contrast this version with the previous, and see how far he has come. It would add color to the character, as well as Sir Patrick. Frankly, with the COVID19 lockdown, the series I have binged upon have been intense, dark, and disturbing. Combined with the activity of the world, including insane politics, homicidal police who seem to view people of color as "prey," rather than their ch...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Icarus Effect

By
This morning's news started with the latest grim proof of overdevelopment in a tough sector: SkyBus Airlines shut down , less than year from when it started. Never heard of Skybus? Not surprising; they chose to focus on trips from Ohio to the West Coast for ridiculously low fares. Yes, you read that right: the airlines' unique niche was that they focused on trips from Ohio . Was air travel such an amazingly profitable business that we needed that much segmentation and focus? Of course not. A year ago, when Skybus was just getting off the ground (har har), fuel costs were at an all time high. United was still in bankruptcy; Delta, a fellow airline with a major hub in Ohio, was just exiting Chapter 11. And yet, "irrational exuberance" led investors like Nationwide Mutual Capital, Huntington Capital Investment Co., and Battelle Services Co. to ignore the obvious signs of risk, and dive into what was a dubious investment. Today, they, and the passengers who were lured by ...
Post a Comment
Read more