Bucs, Parcells battle for the lower ground
ROMANO
By JOHN ROMANO, Times Sports Columnist
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 31, 2002
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TAMPA -- Eventually, someone must stand up for the truth.
Which explains why Bryan Glazer is on a stepladder. And brother Joel just purchased lifts.
In their long-running game of liar's poker, the Bucs owners have just called Bill Parcells' innuendo and raised him a fib.
They have taken the extraordinary step of challenging his trail of broken promises with their own history of backhanded deceptions.
So Parcells wants to gallop off in the sunset as a Cowboy?
Forget you, the Glazers say. And the horse you rode off on.
First you must acknowledge the contract we have repeatedly denied you ever signed. Then apologize for the shameful treatment of Tony Dungy that we have washed our hands of. And, later, we'll discuss the rising cost of Tuna.
This is where we find ourselves today. Laughing at the misfortune of Parcells and snickering at the temerity of the Bucs.
Tampa Bay wants a refund for a purchase that was never made. Parcells wants a free pass for a promise that was never kept.
So it will come down to a hearing before commissioner Paul Tagliabue this week. Can you imagine a more entertaining showdown? I mean, if the truth hurts, these guys are feeling no pain.
Understand, this is not just about compensation. It has more in common with retaliation. The Glazers were burned by Parcells a year ago, and now they're willing to go down in flames just to get even.
Should Parcells be held accountable?
Without a doubt.
At best, he is wishy-washy. At worst, a liar. At best, he is cunning. At worst, a sneak. By now, it is a wonder anyone would want to hire him. He has teased the Falcons once and the Bucs twice. He left a job in New England once and in New York twice. Liza Minnelli hasn't walked down this many aisles.
Parcells has been revealed as equal parts arrogant and deceitful, and he is fast ruining a reputation that took a lifetime to build. If the world knew how worthless his signature has become, there'd be panic on eBay.
If they are so inclined, the Glazers could present a pretty convincing case when they sit down with the commissioner.
Sure, there is the signed contract. That is where they could start. But they also could point out the high cost of Parcells' shameless teasing.
In material terms? It cost the Bucs four high draft choices and $8-million, because that is what it took to pry Jon Gruden loose from the Raiders when the Glazers realized there were no second-best candidates standing around.
In human terms? It cost Dungy his job and robbed Tampa Bay of one of its leading citizens. The overriding reason for Dungy's dismissal was Parcells' supposed infatuation with this job. Why else fire a coach coming off three straight playoff appearances unless you have a two-time Super Bowl champion tapping his toes behind the curtain?
Of course, this would be the sticky part for the Glazers.
They have claimed, with all the sincerity of a couple of frat boys accused of spilling beer at a kegger, that they did not contact Parcells until after Dungy was fired. On the surface, this seems highly implausible. In every other way, it sounds like a load of hooey.
The Parcells camp is trying to use this as leverage. Hold his feet to the fire and, it is suggested, Parcells might just spill the beans about the real chronology of events with the Glazers. Perhaps admit the boys were pursuing him months before the start of Dungy's final season.
By now, you might be wondering why it has come to this.
Why Parcells has not admitted his leering glances were hurtful to Dungy and the Bucs. Why the Glazers could not acknowledge they should have been more up front with Dungy and the community.
The problem with that theory is that it presupposes Parcells has a conscience and the Glazers have an ounce of shame.
Naturally, the NFL wants this business to quickly go away. The league is speeding up the hearing process and will try to find a common ground. But do not be surprised, if the Glazers do not get satisfaction, if the whole seedy episode winds up in court. It would be a final tweak of Parcells.
Yet, here is the funny thing about the whole mess.
Today, more than any other, the Glazers should be pointing proudly at the way things turned out. The price for Gruden may have been high, but it already is paying off. He has been on the job less than a year, and already the Bucs have won more games than in any other season. They won a division title, have a first-round bye and are two victories from the Super Bowl.
They have found themselves a coach with ties to the community and an unsurpassed passion for excellence.
But, instead of putting the focus on how they found a ruby in a pile of rubble, they are reminding the world of the goof-up that preceded it.
This is the bed Parcells and the Glazers have made.
And together they will lie in it. |
