Posted: December 27
Updated: Today at 12:40 AM
Bill Parcells is a myth not a legend OPINION Dave Hyde
Its no secret, I guess, that Bill Parcells failed here. Except that when you channel surf these days, theres a Parcells documentary on ESPN that doesnt mention his Dolphins years, and another on the NFL Network that does so only in passing.
I still like this game for some reason, Parcells says from his golf cart at practice one day last spring to General Manager Jeff Ireland.
Yeah, you do, its obvious, Ireland says.
I dont know why, but I do, he says.
Thats about the extent shown of Parcells time with the Dolphins. Nothing about how other front offices outflanked him. Nothing about his outdated blueprint for roster building or even a human touch on the difficulty of repeating greatness.
Theres certainly nothing about Parcells watching from afar Sunday as his former partners, Ireland and Tony Sparano, twist in the headlines to see if they get a thumbs up or thumbscrews from Dolphins owner Steve Ross.
Parcells, in this context, isnt a legend. Hes a myth. That struck me again as I rewatched these documentaries. And myths are difficult to address when the facts say something else.
People believe the image that Parcells wins everywhere because thats what the brand says. Except, of course, he has not won everywhere. The truth is he has not won anywhere in any significant manner in more than a decade.
Including his final year with the Jets in 1998, he has won one fewer playoff game than Jimmy Johnson. Johnson, as Dolphins fans know, left the stage after the 1999 season in tears and with the hangdog label of a failure.
Parcells failure, it turns out, is both more muted and more pronounced than all his Dolphins predecessors. Its not that he strangely walked away five days before this season. Its that his era got more disappointing with each successive season.
We can argue whether tackle Jake Long should have been taken over quarterback Matt Ryan with the top pick.
Atlanta got Ryan. Baltimore made a bold trade up for Joe Flacco. Those teams are playoff-bound. Parcells (and Ireland and Sparano) took two linemen with their first two picks, just as their big-and-bold blueprint ordains.
Good people have come and gone over the past decade because of Dolphins quarterbacks. If that happens again, so be it. Ireland and Sparano are big boys. They knew the risk by not taking any risk at quarterback. Theyve also fired a lot people they brought in themselves.
Lets be fair. Parcells gave everything he had here. Most people inside the Dolphins liked and respected him. Maybe fans could have, too, if he hadnt pulled a Garbo by not talking publicly for three years.
But you are what your record says you are, as he famously said once. That quote runs in the documentaries about him somewhere around the time hes doused with Gatorade on a Super Bowl sideline.
That last celebration is a long way from 2010, a long way from the Dolphins against Detroit on Sunday, a long way from where his team now stands.
And yes, its still his team. His people. His creation. Dolphins fans wont forget, even if the Parcells myth does.
