Mr. Kraft Names Bill Parcells to the Patriots Hall of Fame
Boston Globe. Getty Images.I have to admit, this one caught me by surprise. It's said that time heels all wounds, and here's your proof:
Patriots.com - In advance of the annual Patriots Hall of Fame Nomination Committee meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 3, New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft announced the selection of former Head Coach Bill Parcells for induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame as a contributor.
"In the early 1990s, the Patriots were in disarray," said Kraft. "But the hiring of Bill Parcells in 1993, a two-time Super Bowl Champion, brought instant credibility to the franchise. We had never had a head coach with his credentials. He was a master motivator and always got the most out of his players. In my first season as owner, he led us on that unforgettable seven-game win streak to qualify for the playoffs. Two years later, he accomplished something Patriots fans had never seen before, leading us to our first two home playoff wins in franchise history, and another trip to the Super Bowl. Those are memories I will never forget and achievements worthy of this honor. As a five-time finalist for our hall of fame, I am sure he would have been voted in eventually, but I wanted to expedite the process so he can enjoy the ceremony. I look forward to welcoming Bill back to Foxborough and celebrating his induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame."
I concede that every word of this statement is correct. Parcells is an all time great coach. He came to New England when this franchise was at its lowest point and dragged it almost to the top of the mountain in short order. All that is true.
But to me, it's more complicated than just bringing credibility or respectability or however the legion of Tuna sychophants in the Boston media a generation ago (most of them are either unemployed or have gone to God) loved to frame it. Here's what I had to say five years ago:
Let's get one thing straight. I loved Parcells when he was here. Loved him. I was all in on Tuna. By 1993, this franchise was so downtrodden, I couldn't bring myself to believe the rumors he was coming here until he walked into his first press conference wearing Patriots Starter jacket. To have a guy with his resume, his juice and his choice of any job he wanted take over here was like the Patriots joining the NFL after being in whatever league they demote European soccer teams to when they blow for too long. I got a framed picture of him for gift one Christmas. Plus one of those "How to Succeed in Business and Life" books legendary coaches used to have ghostwritten for them. So let's be clear on my appreciation for the guy.
Let's just not whitewash his record in New England. Especially now that he's back on the ballot and the Boston media that worshiped him harder than I did are beating the drum once again for him to get in. So they're padding the resume of his successes and ignoring his failures. At best, his time here was inconsistent. At worst, his motivation came and went, and the team reflected that. …
His record here was 32-32 in the regular season, 2-2 in the postseason. If you want to give him a pass for his first year here, you have every right. He took a 1-15 team and through force of will dragged them up to a new and improved 5-11. And even that took a 4-game winning streak at the end of the season.But you also have to give him ownership of his third season here., 1995. That 6-10 clusterfudge with a team that had been in the Wild Card round the year before.
As far as the number one argument for his induction, that he "made them respectable," so did Chuck Fairbanks. In the early 70s he took the worst franchise in all of sports and transformed them into a powerhouse that would've competed for multiple Super Bowls if he hadn't quit on them to take another job while they were winning their division and he was under contract. (Hold that thought; more on that later.) So did another coach.
Ray Berry made them respectable. Taking over for the most incompetent, lying asshole in franchise history, Ron Meyer in 1984, he brought them to the Super Bowl the very next year. And back to the playoffs the year after that, going 11-5 each time. … It’s only because of terrible drafting and losing some of their top talent to teams that weren’t going bankrupt that he eventually was fired. But not before going 48-39, .552. That’s 16 more wins to just 7 more losses than Parcells had in New England. Plus Berry was 3-2 in the postseason. So if you want to bang the table for some coach to be admitted, why not make it be Ray Berry? …
f you say that during the 6-10 year he was fat, lazy and sort of disinterested, it doesn't mean you're ripping the man. It just means you've read his autobiography and listened to his interviews. He admits it. Just like he admits his falling out with the Krafts was largely his own fault and if he had to do it all over again, he'd do things a lot differently. …
Yes, he took the team to Super Bowl 31. But he was distracted and already checked out and focused on his new job with the Jets. And the team's performance reflected it. If you think I'm just making that up, the phone bill from his hotel room in New Orleans showed 51 calls to Hempstead during the week. Fifty-one. Then of course, he famously took his own flight home and never addressed anyone on his roster except for the ones he signed as free agents
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A .500 record and quitting on the team during the worst possible moment don't disqualify him from ever getting into the Patriots Hall. But they are a consideration.
To my way of thinking, nothing has changed. Other than Parcells' and RKK's perspectives on the time they spent together. Things were bad between them for a long time. Parcells saw his boss as the prototypical meddling owner, and not the man who saved the franchise from leaving for St. Louis by investing his own fortune without even consulting with his wife. In turn, Mr. Kraft saw him as an ingrate who felt entitled to run the team however he saw fit, answerable to no one. It was a bad marriage from the beginning, that ended in a very messy, highly public divorce on the biggest stage of all, the Super Bowl.
But as people age, tempers cool. Old adversaries learn to respect each other. Sometimes even look back on their beefs like they were the glory days. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson spent the days of the Revolution and the early years of the Republic at each others' throats. But they were the last two Founding Fathers, and their letters to each other are full of fondness and nostalgia. Right up to the day they both died, July 4, 1826. Exactly 50 years to the day they signed the Declaration of Independence. In fact, Adams' dying words were "Jefferson lives." Or to put it the way another pretty darned good President, Abe Lincoln put it, "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
So I'm not about to set myself on fire over this. It wouldn't be my choice. But you simply cannot tell the story of the Patriots franchise without focusing on the mid-1990s and what a transformative figure Parcells was. Even if his total body of work isn't that impressive, he's a big part of the history of pro football in New England. I would've preferred Bill Belichick get his eligibility period waved the way Tom Brady did last year, and get put right in. But since there's more than a 0% chance he'll be back in the NFL some time soon, I guess that could make things awkward.
Anyway, congratulations to Duane Charles Parcells. That acceptance speech is going to be Must-See TV.
