Parcells A Biography

by Gutman, Bill

• ISBN13: 9780786709342
• ISBN10: 0786709340
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-10
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

In January 2000, shortly after the New York Jets ended their '99 season, their coach, Bill Parcells, retired. By then he had won 149 games, lost 106, tied one, led three major pro football teams out of serious slumps, and taken two of them to the Super Bowl. He had made football history; he'd become the NFL's miracle man. Both intimidating and disarming, with a tongue like a whip and the temperament of a tyrant, Bill Parcells joined the failing New York Giants in 1983. By 1990 he'd twice taken the team to the Super Bowl. Three years later he took in tow the downtrodden New England Patriots, whom he propelled to the Super Bowl in his fourth season. He returned to New York in 1997, this time to rally the Jets. In two seasons the team with a lamentable 115 record had won a division title and missed the Super Bowl by only a game. In 1999, beleaguered by injuries to key players, the Jets nose-dived, losing six of its first seven games, but Parcells still managed to salvage the season with an 88 finish. While this biography candidly assesses the career of a consummate coach, it also examines the driving force that took hold of Parcells early and never let him go. Call it ambition, a dream, bulldog spirit, or perfectionism, it made him one of the winningest coaches in NFL history.

Author Biography

Bill Gutman is the author of Parcells. He has also authored biographies of Michael Jordan, Sammy Sosa, and Brett Favre.

Table of Contents

Prologue	xi
Introduction	1	(9)
Sowing the Seeds, Jersey Style	10	(15)
A Player Evolves	25	(10)
Coach Pretty	35	(16)
Grounded	51	(12)
The Dream Becomes Real	63	(14)
Head Coach, But for How Long?	77	(9)
The Parcells Way	86	(15)
Climbing That Final Mountain	101	(14)
Super Coach, Super Team	115	(11)
Lessons That Never End	126	(11)
The Best Super Bowl Ever	137	(16)
Nothing Is Forever	153	(13)
The NFL Wars, Round Two	166	(12)
Winning, Then Losing, Equals the Problem	178	(15)
Super For a Third Time	193	(15)
Bad Endings All Around	208	(12)
Master Rebuilder	220	(15)
And a Guy Named Vinny Shall Lead Them	235	(11)
Unfinished Business	246	(15)
His Best Coaching Job Ever	261	(16)
A Tough Decision Made Tougher	277	(13)
Epilogue: The Parcells Legacy	290