PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Parcells Turns Down Tampa Bay Offer

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came up short again Sunday when two-time Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells turned down a $6.5-million deal to run the struggling franchise.

Owner Hugh Culverhouse, appearing stunned at a hastily called news conference in Tampa, said Parcells had agreed on Dec. 23 to a five-year contract that not only would have made him coach of the Buccaneers, but given him full control of the team’s football operations.

Parcells, who led the New York Giants to two NFL championships before accepting a job with NBC Sports this season, reneged at the last minute, Culverhouse said.

“He had a change of heart, and he said he’s not coming to Tampa Bay,” Culverhouse said. “I feel as though I’ve been jilted at the altar.”

Parcells contradicted Culverhouse on NBC’s “NFL Live” pregame show, saying: “I never said I would take the job at Tampa Bay.”

Parcells said he had agreed to “consider the job on the basis of a number of things that we enumerated in writing. . . . That’s what I agreed to do, and I considered it on that basis. In the end, I had to say no.”

There were reports Parcells was close to a deal with the Green Bay Packers.

Parcells said he will meet with Packer General Manager Ron Wolf, but a date has not been set. Wolf said Sunday he still planned to persuade his friend to coach Green Bay. CBS quoted an unidentified source as saying Parcells is close to accepting Green Bay’s offer.

“Ron and I had talked,” Parcells said. “We agreed to set up a meeting at some point in time. I don’t know when it is, but I assume we’ll talk at some time in the future.”

Wolf said he canceled an interview with former Seattle Seahawk Coach Chuck Knox scheduled for today in California.

Culverhouse had a difficult time explaining why Parcells changed his mind.

“He said, ‘You know it may be just too much, having to do all the personnel . . . maybe it can detract from my coaching.’ I said that’s why we’ll have a general manager. But I really don’t know other than he just said he wasn’t coming. I’m at a loss.”

Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas was chosen as the NFL offensive player of the year in voting conducted by the Associated Press. Thomas was a runaway winner over teammate Jim Kelly in balloting of 82 media members.