Parcells Quits Jet Post; Lions Go With Millen

Bill Parcells quit as director of football operations of the New York Jets on Tuesday, saying he’s not ready for the commitment needed to make the team a consistent title contender.

Parcells leaves only 10 days after coach Al Groh resigned suddenly to coach Virginia, his alma mater.

“I feel a long-term commitment is now in order,” Parcells said during a conference call. “I don’t feel I’m the person to make that commitment. We’re moving on.”

Parcells, 59, said he had suggested possible replacements to owner Woody Johnson, but he would not be directly involved in any interviews for a coach or general manager.

Parcells’ resignation takes effect at the end of the month. He met for several hours with Johnson on Monday, the second time the two had discussed the Jets’ future in the past week.

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Matt Millen moved from the field to the TV booth to the executive suite. And now, as president and CEO of the Detroit Lions, he plans to keep Coach Gary Moeller and is talking to Barry Sanders about a comeback.

Millen agreed to a $15-million, five-year contract. He will have complete control over all football operations.

“We’ve been . . . pretty much stuck on dead center for quite a few years,” owner William Clay Ford said. “Matt offers us an opportunity to move ahead.”

The team hasn’t had a general manager since Russ Thomas left in 1989. The Lions have allowed their coaches--Wayne Fontes, Bobby Ross and Moeller--to run the football operation since Thomas resigned.

In one of his first orders of business, Millen said he spoke with Sanders, who retired from the Lions in 1999 as the league’s second all-time rusher.

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Commissioner Paul Tagliabue could have a ruling in a day or two on whether former St. Louis Ram coach Dick Vermeil can take the same job with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tagliabue conducted a two-hour hearing at NFL headquarters in New York, listening to arguments by the Rams, who claim Vermeil has a year remaining on his contract with them, and the Chiefs, who say the coach has no further obligation to his old team and should be able to work elsewhere.

Vermeil did not attend the hearing but submitted answers to written questions.

At issue is whether the coach, who took the Rams to a Super Bowl championship last January, should be free to join the Chiefs, who fired coach Gunther Cunningham after two seasons last week.

Vermeil announced his retirement from the Rams last February with two years remaining on his contract, turning the head coaching job over to offensive coordinator Mike Martz. The Rams then went 10-6 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New Orleans Saints.

Ram President John Shaw said that when Vermeil left, the team gave him a $2-million bonus as a thank-you for the Super Bowl championship but did not intend that as a payoff for the remainder of his contract.

The Chiefs claim that a document prepared in conjunction with that payment effectively ended the coach’s association with the Rams.

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The San Diego Chargers hired former Washington Redskin coach Norv Turner to a four-year contract as offensive coordinator to replace Geep Chryst, who was fired.

Turner was dismissed by the Redskins with three games left in the season.

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Hired before the season to turn around Tampa Bay’s offense, Les Steckel was fired as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator after the team managed only a field goal in an NFC wild-card game.

Despite setting franchise records for points scored, touchdowns and average yards per rush, the Buccaneers’ gained only 199 yards in a 21-3 playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Mike Ditka received a settlement of more than $3 million from the Saints, ending a five-month dispute over the remaining 2 1/2 years on the fired coach’s contract. . . . Defensive back Tremain Mack of the Cincinnati Bengals was sentenced in Cincinnati to a year in jail for violating his probation for drunken driving, but he could be released in a month. Mack was caught on videotape driving a car with a suspended license. His probation terms barred him from operating a vehicle until next fall. The judge said the sentence will be reviewed after 30 days. . . . Tennessee Titan quarterback Steve McNair will replace injured Denver Bronco quarterback Brian Griese on the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl. . . . Lowell Perry, a star player at Michigan in the 1950s who became the first black assistant coach in the NFL after World War II, died Sunday of complications from cancer in Southfield, Mich. He was 66.