Parcells Chasing the Clouds Away : Coach’s Winning Attitude Has the Patriots Believing in Themselves Again After a Dismal Season

To hell with subtlety. Walk into Bill Parcells’ new office, the one overlooking the Foxboro Stadium field, and you soon find yourself staring at two footballs on a bookshelf.

They are Super Bowl balls, each bearing the game, date and score of a Parcells-coached championship victory. They have absolutely nothing to do with interior decorating, but everything to do with respect.

In no uncertain terms, Parcells, 51, is sending a message, a reminder and a warning to anyone who questions his mission as the latest New England Patriot coach. The bottom line: I’ve got two of these babies , and matching Super Bowl rings, too. How about you?

Well, if you play for the New England Patriots, the only ring you are likely to own is the one your wife gave you on your wedding day. Actually, there was a Super Bowl appearance by the Patriots after the 1985 season, but who wants to commemorate a 46-10 thumping by the Chicago Bears?

Beginning with that Super Bowl defeat, things turned ugly fast. The Patriots earned a playoff spot the next season, lost to Denver and haven’t been seen since. When describing this franchise, numb’s the word.

Let’s see: four new owners (the NFL included) in five years . . . four coaches in five years . . . one Lisa Olson controversy . . . one victory in 1990 . . . two victories in 1992 . . . tens of thousands of empty seats . . . one terrible stadium lease . . . one persistent rumor--the St. Louis Patriots.

But all was temporarily forgiven and forgotten when the Patriots delivered unto their beleaguered followers the great Parcells. A news conference was held in downtown Boston, attended by more than 100 reporters, as well as Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, who happened to be in the neighborhood for the convenient photo op with Parcells.

With the stroke of a pen, Parcells had given a battered franchise its credibility back and its fans some hope. New England cared again.

“The sky was a little bluer the day we announced it,” a Patriot official said.

Patrick Forte, Patriot executive vice president for football operations, put it more bluntly: “This is the first time in this franchise’s history we’ve hired a real football coach.”

Since Parcells arrived, Patriot season tickets are once more a hot item, although there are plenty of good seats available. The Patriots have the second-smallest season-ticket fan base in the NFL--21,525 for a stadium that can hold 60,290.

“He’s really what we’re selling right now,” said Ann Parry, Patriot executive director of marketing. “But in the long run, winning on the field is going to sell more tickets.”

Parcells barely acknowledged his financial impact--”I’m not in the ticket business,” he said--but he did acknowledge that his presence sent a signal to the rest of the NFL.

“I think people in the league generally perceive this as, ‘Hey, the Patriots mean business,’ ” he said, stressing that his comments had less to do with ego and more to do with accomplishments. “Would you perceive it that way?”

Yes, he is told.

“I think (the NFL) would too,” he said. “The Patriots mean business. If (Dallas Cowboy Coach) Jimmy Johnson picked up and went wherever, they mean business.”

If ever a franchise needed to get serious about winning, this is the one. Say what you will about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but in many ways, the Patriot legacy is more painful to endure. In recent years, there have been front-office follies and on-field flops. Taken as a whole, the Patriots often have been the NFL’s version of the comedy channel.

Parcells isn’t laughing. He sees nothing amusing about a franchise that somehow forgot to win or worse yet, quit trying. He came to the Patriots not out of pity or curiosity, but because owner James B. Orthwein convinced him that the franchise was worth the trouble.

Parcells asked for a lot of money. He got it. He asked for a certain autonomy. He got it. He asked for a chance to spend some of Orthwein’s cash on free agents. He got it. He asked that a commitment be made. He got that, too.

By the time negotiations were completed Jan. 22, the Patriots had done everything but rename the stadium after him.

So after a two-year absence from coaching, Parcells has returned. But it wasn’t a seamless transition.

“Your mind begins to race a little,” Parcells said. “It’s an experience you remember vividly, but you haven’t had it for a while. But I knew what I’d done.”

Parcells’ coaching career began at New England in 1980. He spent a season here as linebacker coach and still has the Patriot helmet, complete with used mouthpiece, presented to him upon his departure 12 seasons ago. The helmet now rests between those two Super Bowl footballs on the bookshelf.

Three years were spent on Ray Perkins’ New York Giant staff before General Manager George Young offered Parcells the head coaching job. Four seasons later, Parcells led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory against Denver. He added a second NFL championship to his collection with a victory over Buffalo in 1991.

And then he quit, but not before offering Ray Handley, his successor, two potholders given to him years earlier by a Giant fan. Those potholders carried with them a simple meaning: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Parcells loved the heat, but not enough to keep on coaching in New York. He later joined NBC as a football analyst.

Boredom crept in. The money was good and the pressure was minimal, yet Parcells let his mind wander. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the idea of returning to the sidelines.

“I never wanted to leave football,” he said. “I really didn’t. I’m not saying anything different. I felt like it was time to leave New York and there were some reasons that really weren’t discussed at great length. I wasn’t feeling well. I just had received a negative report about my (health). I knew I wasn’t feeling good. And it turned out that my instincts were correct.”

The Buccaneers made the first run at him after the 1991 season. Tampa Bay owner Hugh Culverhouse thought he had a deal, then Parcells suddenly said no. The Green Bay Packers tried, too, but again Parcells declined.

Something didn’t feel right. As it turned out, it was his heart.

A year later, Parcells underwent coronary bypass surgery. That done, he returned to NBC for another season of telestrators and game-day musings. Then the Patriots called. Parcells called back.

“This is my last one,” he said. “I’m going to try very hard to make this a good one.”

So here he is, happy and healthy, planning for Sunday’s draft. Already Parcells and his staff, which includes Perkins, his former Giant boss, as New England’s defensive coordinator, have examined the wreckage of the Patriots’ 2-14 record of a season ago, the worst in the NFL. Films have been watched. Performances have been partially assessed. Priorities have been set.

On this particular day, Parcells will meet with the team physician to receive medical updates on every injured Patriot player. And as always, Parcells will return to his office, plop in his big, brown leather chair and stare silently at the large wallboard adjacent to his desk. The board features the Patriot depth chart, which, by season’s start, is likely to undergo substantial change.

“This is going to be a culture shock for some of these guys here,” Parcells said. “I mean, believe me, it’s going to be a shock. I don’t mean that to be an ‘I’ll-show-these-guys’ attitude. I don’t mean it that way. But there’s going to be a different style and a little different work ethic. Generally speaking, people go by the wayside.”

Especially overweight ones.

“I don’t like fat ones,” Parcells said. “I didn’t have any fat guys in New York.”

Parcells has seen mediocrity, and worse. The 1983 Giants finished 3-12-1. But the Patriots are worse. They didn’t lose those 14 games last season by accident.

New England committed 42 turnovers, was penalized for more than 1,000 yards and gave up 65 sacks. “Do that and you have no chance,” said Parcells, whose 1990 Giant team set an NFL record by committing only 14 turnovers.

So pitiful was the team last season that some Patriot players thought twice about making public appearances. Embarrassed by their record, they would stare at their shoes when confronted by Patriot followers.

“That’s the thing that bothered me most,” defensive end Brent Williams said. “I was ashamed of going out when we were 1-15, 2-13.”

Running back Marvin Allen wasn’t ashamed; he was in denial. A true story, according to Williams:

Fan: “Hey, you with the Patriots?”

Allen: “No.”

Williams can smile about the incident now.

“That’s because we would have gone through another off-season of that if it hadn’t been for the hiring of Coach Parcells,” he said. “Now it’s different when you walk through the door here. It’s a lot more positive.”

To hear Williams explain it, the Patriots’ play last season merely reflected the Patriots’ bumbling in the front office. Apathy set in.

“If you think they’re floating along, then why bother,” he said. “It’s an easy attitude.”

Now Williams talks seriously of winning the AFC Eastern Division title this year, which might be overly ambitious. Still, it’s the thought that counts.

The Patriots aren’t devoid of talent. There are Pro Bowl linebacker Vincent Brown and nose tackle Tim Goad to anchor the defense. On offense, Pat Harlow, Eugene Chung and Bruce Armstrong are the key men in a line that could soon dominate.

The Patriots will have the first pick in the draft. In that enviable position, do you pick Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe or Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer? Do you trade down for more picks?

And the Patriots have been busy rounding up other picks. They traded wide receiver Irving Fryar and his salary of about $1 million to the Miami Dolphins for a second-round choice. They traded fullback John Stephens and his $800,000 salary to the Packers for a fourth-round choice. That gives New England nine picks in eight rounds and four selections, including No. 1, in the top 57.

Parcells also told veteran quarterback Hugh Millen, who has a $1.4-million contract, to seek a trade, thus, presumably paving the way for Bledsoe or Mirer.

Taking advantage of the unrestricted free-agent market, New England signed quarterback Scott Secules from the Dolphins, offensive lineman Steve Trapillo from the New Orleans Saints, defensive lineman Leon Seals from the Philadelphia Eagles and defensive lineman Aaron Jones from the Pittsburgh Steelers. It also has offers on the table to two restricted free agents: Phoenix Cardinal wide receiver Ricky Proehl and Detroit Lion wide receiver Mike Farr. Phoenix and Detroit have until today to match the Patriot offer.

Forte, the football-operations man, came to New England from the Philadelphia Eagles.

“There was always an urgency there, a sense of accomplishment,” he said.

And the Patriots?

“I was miffed how this franchise had slipped,” he said.

Now Forte looks on as Parcells begins to shape the team in the coach’s likeness: direct, aggressive, powerful.

“It will be fun to be around here to play NFC East football,” Forte said.

Not so fast. Parcells promises nothing except hard work.

“Giants North? I don’t think so,” he said. “I think we’re going to try to create our own way.”

That’s fine with players such as Williams, who has already contacted boyhood friends Carl Banks and Mark Ingram for advice on Parcells. Banks and Ingram both played for Parcells at New York.

In fact, Williams was part of a proposed deal in 1989 that would have sent him to the Giants. The trade fell through, costing Williams an eventual Super Bowl appearance.

Not one to forget such things, Williams mentioned the failed transaction to Parcells during a recent meeting.

“You owe me at least one Super Bowl ring,” Williams told Parcells.

For so many years, the Patriots have simply been a team with no other wish than to be loved. Now, if Parcells has his way, they will become a team to be feared.