No class shown in NFL coaching squabble

The practice of vacating a head coaching position after taking a team to the Super Bowl is not unprecedented. Bill Walsh stepped down as coach of the San Francisco 49ers after leading his squad to a triumph in Super Bowl XXIII. Two years later, Bill Parcells, then the coach of the New York Giants, announced his retirement just months after capturing his second Super Bowl ring.

But the complicated and highly publicized charade that Parcells, late of the New England Patriots, has orchestrated over the past three weeks has turned into one of the most bizarre and bitter coaching squabbles ever witnessed in professional sports.

The root of the controversy is the 1996 NFL Draft, where Parcells and Patriots owner Bob Kraft clashed bitterly over New England's number one selection. As a result of Parcells' obvious anger over his lack of control, speculation abounded that he would leave the Pats.

After the Super Bowl, the rumors really started to fly. Parcells, who was still under contract for another year, officially resigned, and conventional wisdom had Parcells going to fill the coaching vacancy of the New York Jets.

Kraft countered, petitioning the NFL to review Parcells' contract with the Patriots and block any attempt by the Big Tuna to find a new coaching position in 1997. The league sided with the Pats, and forbade Parcells from coaching any team but New England next season. On Tues., Feb. 6, the Jets announced the hiring of Bill Belichick, Parcells' longtime defensive coordinator, as their next head coach. Parcells was hired as a "special consultant" for 1997, and will take over the coaching reigns in 1998. The Pats have appealed again, and all plans are on hold pending the NFL's ruling.

As sports fans, we have come to expect the petty, arrogant, and greedy behavior of star athletes as they disregard any sense of commitment in search of that extra million. But until now we have been spared such antics in the ranks of coaches. If the Parcells case is any indication, however, even that bastion of athletic integrity is crumbling.

No one will emerge from this mess with their reputation unscathed. The Jets, the Patriots, the NFL, and Parcells himself have fueled the situation to a point where it stands as a distasteful epilogue to a season which should still be feeding off of the positive energy created by the first reasonably competitive Super Bowl in years.

Let's examine the conflict. I'll start with the Jets. Clearly, New York's efforts to build a title-contender through straightforward, honest methods have failed miserably. The Jets have not been to a Super Bowl since 1969, and have finished a pathetic 4-28 over the past two seasons. Yet, through all of the frustrations and misery, the Jets have managed to maintain a certain measure of dignity. Jets owner Leon Hess has embodied this spirit by not manipulating his coaches and not meddling in team affairs. With their maneuvering over the past few weeks, however, the Jets have lost even this shred of decency. In the best-case scenario, the Jets will be left with a lame-duck interim coach, the nucleus of a squad that finished 1-15 last year, and players and a coaching staff who will be utterly confused about their roles and their futures. And all of this is for the promise of a man who completely abandoned his last job because of a petty conflict with management.

The Tuna may be a good motivator and judge of talent, but it takes more than that to be considered a coaching great. After molding his young Patriot squad into winners, Parcells clearly had no qualms about leaving his charges in search of more power and more influence. There is a certain pride in sticking with one team through trials and tribulations, and working out personal problems as they arise. In this era, Joe Gibbs, formerly of the Redskins, and Walsh of the 49ers come to mind when the term "great coach" is thrown around, not only for their success and longevity, but also for their loyalty and dignity. It is true that the Patriots management acted foolishly in its dealings with Parcells, but the coach has embarrassed himself and the league by the way he handled the situation.

Finally there is the NFL. Tagliabue and his staff have allowed this charade to drag on far longer than necessary because of their indecision. The league should simply have allowed him to be released from his contractual obligation to the Patriots and forbidden Parcells to work for any other NFL organization in 1997.

Further speculation is essentially pointless. Regardless of the league ruling, Parcells will coach the Jets in '98, and who knows, maybe mold New York as he did New England. But the story is still distressing. As selfishness and avarice permeate deeper and deeper into sport, the games we watch become less and less of a refuge from "real" life. When I think of sports, I want to think of entertainment, rivalries, and exciting last-minute victories rather than litigation, power struggles and last-minute contact negotiations. But as the Parcells-gate illustrates, we are moving further away from my ideal every day.

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