Bryan Cox Looks Like Parcells Guy

When general manager George Weiss was “retired” by the New York Yankees in 1960 after building the team that dominated the American League for the better part of 15 years, his wife was even less thrilled than the longtime executive. “I married him for better or worse,” Hazel Weiss said, “but not for lunch.”

Fortunately, along came a New York expansion franchise, the Mets, to provide her husband with a meaningful job and an office in which to spend his days.

Bryan Cox described a similar situation after he was released by the Chicago Bears and tentative offers from three other teams evaporated. The 30-year-old linebacker considered the possibility his NFL career was over after seven seasons, and he was just growing comfortable with the notion of leisure time.

“I was playing softball, I was playing golf,” he said at New York Jets camp Monday. “I told my wife, ‘Baby, get ready to see me every day.”

The news was as welcome to LaTonia Cox as it was to Hazel Weiss almost four decades earlier. “She didn’t want that,” the player conceded. As a result, Bill Parcells has at least one fan in the Cox household. He rescued the controversial defender from enforced retirement with an employment opportunity that promised little beyond a chance to compete with a winning club.

To the surprise of many observers, the man who has earned Pro Bowl recognition three times at inside linebacker lined up on the outside in his first workout with the Jets. And he did so with the second unit, spelling first-time Pro Bowl selection Mo Lewis. This despite the fact Parcells’ call was triggered by the season-ending loss of middle linebacker Marvin Jones to a knee injury on Friday.

“This kid started (his professional career) on the outside,” the coach noted. “This may be better for him. It’s more of a one-on-one situation with the tight end. ... He told me his weakness is in (pass) coverage. This also allows him to be a rusher from the outside. I think this is where he can fit.”

Cox didn’t consider the shift in position or the relegation to backup as affronts to his ego. “I still feel I’m starter material,” he said, “but I don’t want to be The Man.” That was the situation in Chicago, where he signed a lucrative free-agent contract after starring for five seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Instead of rallying around Cox, the Bears’ undermanned defense collapsed, stoking the fire of failure that has driven the man to volcanic eruptions.

All Parcells promised was that the Jets were committed to winning. “What came up in our conversation,” Cox said, “is that he’s not giving me anything. It’s back to the way it was as a young player. I’ll even get involved with special teams. My main goal is to get in condition now.”

There is the perception that defensive coordinator Bill Belichick might be tempted to employ a 3-4 alignment more frequently now that he has two linebackers -- Lewis and Cox -- who are accomplished pass rushers. Cox also provides insurance if Dwayne Gordon or Pepper Johnson, battling back from knee reconstruction, can’t do the job in the middle. But neither coach nor player is in a position to forecast the future.

In fact, Cox said, he turned down a two-year contract in favor of a one-year deal at $500,000, with no signing bonus. “I want to play this year and see how I enjoy it,” he said. “This feels like a good situation to me. I feel (Parcells) is a straight shooter.”

The coach also is something of a tyrant on the sidelines, and the chemistry of the two men under pressure threatens to be a compound of nitro and glycerine. Cox acknowledged that he doesn’t like people yelling at him. “He’s a yeller,” he said of Parcells. “I’m a yeller. We talked about it.”

But Parcells also makes it a point to know something about his players’ personal lives, to establish an alternate line of communications. Parcells announced yesterday that one of Cox’ thoroughbreds won a race at Calder on Saturday. “I haven’t had a horse win in a while,” said Parcells, who as a thoroughbred owner has a financial as well as an emotional stake in the sport.

Cox owns Freak Man Stables, headquartered in Miami. And Lavonda’s Music, named after his oldest daughter, was the winner to which Parcells referred. “First time on turf,” the proud owner noted.

Cox’s initial exposure to racing came as a youngster when he worked as a dishwasher at Fairmount Park, an old track near his home in East St. Louis, Ill. He was drawn to it again after playing golf in Miami with the track announcer, who invited Cox to join him in the booth one day. On the occasion of Cox’ visit, he was introduced to a man who was looking for a partner. “I bought a piece of a horse,” Cox said. Now he has six thoroughbreds in training.

Although he said he knew little about the New York area and suggested he would be lost without a map or a guide, “I’d find a racetrack, I’d find OTB.” That shouldn’t be a problem in New York, which has no shortage of either.

There are many dimensions to Cox that have been overshadowed by his reputation for irrational behavior. He said he doesn’t get enough credit for his intelligence, although Parcells noted that the linebacker grasped the Jets’ scheme in his first two days at Hofstra and called defensive signals for his previous teams. Cox also has raised a lot of money for charity in Miami and Chicago.

But all anyone wants to discuss, it seems, is the more than $130,000 in fines levied against him by the league for temper tantrums against officials, opponents and fans, notably those in Buffalo. “I don’t accept losing,” Cox explained. “I don’t like to be associated with people who accept losing. Sometimes, that caused me to go berserk.”

He said Parcells never mentioned infractions when the two spoke. “It wasn’t an issue with him,” Cox said. “He understands players. This is a violent game. When you’re asking a player to be violent and then say, ‘Cool it,’ that’s difficult to do.” Cox added that he lost control only in situations where the outcome already had been determined.

“The slate’s clean as far as I’m concerned,” the coach said. “I don’t ask anyone’s personality to correspond with mine. I just want him to be Bryan Cox.”

Upon reflection, that’s no small order.