It Remains to be Seen if Belichick Can Achieve Success as Head Coach

After a manic Monday cost the jobs of five men, there are suddenly enough Help Wanted ads for the NFL to start printing a classified section.

Start with new vacancies in Chicago, Seattle, Carolina, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Add one in San Diego where there’s an interim replacement and another in Cleveland for the expansion Browns. Anticipate yet another if the Redskins are sold and new ownership decides to clean house. That makes seven definites and a possible eight job openings.

That makes the odds pretty good that one will be reserved for Bill Belichick.

The teams looking for a coach all want the same one. And since they can’t have Bill Parcells, they’ll take what Parcells has on his staff, a hot candidate whose value increased by several degrees this season after another impressive job performance.

But on the way to the interviews that he’ll inevitably get, Belichick might want to pause long enough to glance in the mirror and honestly ask himself what he sees: an NFL head coach, or the best coordinator in football?

One vision is fuzzy, the other clear.

For all the tributes and praise dumped on Parcells, and most of it well deserved after turning around the Jets, his co-star’s contributions cannot be dismissed. Belichick’s labor may take place quietly in the background, but it shows every Sunday. Vinny Testaverde’s unexpected and sudden rise from a bumbling quarterback to MVP candidate takes top honor for the Jets’ 12-4 season. Running a close second is the defense. Belichick’s crew gives real hope to the Super Bowl dreams of owner Leon Hess.

To conclude the regular season, the Jets faced three playoff teams, two on the road, and allowed just 36 points. They were prepared for the mastery of Dan Marino. They weren’t fooled by Doug Flutie’s theatrics. And a Patriots’ team with a second-stringer at quarterback simply had no hope.

The Jets have what Jacksonville and even Buffalo lack, a defensive scheme creative enough to make Denver break a sweat.

As a professor of defense, Belichick is clearly in his element. His players embrace his concepts and buy his theories. There’s no disputing his track record as a coordinator, which is long and prosperous. And there’s no denying his importance to Parcells, the mentor who had Belichick with the Giants, Patriots and now Jets. Parcells won two Super Bowls with Belichick as his Giants’ defensive coordinator, and didn’t make the Super Bowl as Patriots’ coach until Belichick arrived.

Their ideal working relationship was interrupted by a five-year gap when Belichick became coach of the Browns in 1991. It seemed like an ideal pairing and an understandable promotion for Belichick, even at the young age of 38. In four years, the Browns went from the three-win team Belichick inherited to 11-5 and the playoffs.

Underneath the success were strong undercurrents, from Belichick’s ability to communicate with certain players to his uptightness with public relations. When Owner Art Modell announced the team was bolting town for Baltimore, the Browns had a handy excuse for falling to 5-11: They were distracted.

In any event, Belichick was out of one job and back in another. Back where he was a better fit. Back with Parcells.

Being ambitious is fine, as long as ambition doesn’t blind. Most of the coaches fired three days ago were gone for good reason: they weren’t good coaches; they were good coordinators thrust into the only place left to climb.

Dave Wannstedt was miscast as Bears’ coach, and the only surprise is he lasted six years. He showed no grasp of personnel savvy, having foolishly traded a No. 1 pick for quarterback Rick Mirer, who showed nothing but a weak arm in Seattle. Dom Capers was unequipped to stop the internal strife in Carolina caused mostly by quarterback Kerry Collins tearing the team apart. Then he showed no sense of discipline when he sent linebacker Kevin Greene back into a game after Greene attacked his assistant coach. Ray Rhodes was given too much personnel power in Philly, which he wasted on terrible draft decisions and trades.

As the desperate teams needing coaches study Belichick, he should do the same. He should make a candid self-examination and study strengths and weaknesses. He should wonder if he has the patience for edgy owners who want results yesterday, for the intrusive media or for the gigantic expectations that will surely greet someone who serves under the great Parcells.

Obviously, as the Jets’ coordinator, Belichick won’t be paid the $2 million or so that he’ll likely command as a head coach. He can chase the cash; it’s the American way. But Belichick isn’t exactly poor, not making reportedly close to $1 million with the Jets, a place where he has peace of mind.

If that isn’t incentive enough for Belichick to pause, he’s been promised the Jets’ job once Parcells leaves. That moment could arrive when the Jets win the Super Bowl or when Parcells’ contract runs out in three years, whichever comes first.

The wave of openings will make for an interesting scenario. With a stern directive from Commissioner Paul Tagliabue about considering black candidates, let’s see what excuses are made when minorities land a paltry number of the jobs. George Seifert seems ready to dust himself off. Mike Holmgren will sift through offers that include GM duties, and this might be the year Steve Spurrier brings his clever playbook to the NFL.

If Belichick is anxious to leave Parcells for a second chance at coaching, he’ll get it. But he should understand that sometimes, on the other side, the only thing greener is the money.