Tuna's Departure

In the recent turn of events Bill Parcells has once again retired from the game of football. There has been no conference, no statement from the Cowboys, and I much as I thought this should happen, it is definitely a surprise to everyone. Parcells worked from 8am to 5pm everyday for the last two weeks and he never indicated that retiring would be on his horizon. He also leaves the Cowboys without a head coach a week before the Senior Bowl, one of the biggest scouting weekends for professional football. There are many rumors behind this retirement already. It might have been because he couldnÂ’t deal with TO, it might have been because Jerry Jones asked him to step down, but ultimately I think he came to his senses and realized that he has just plain lost it. At this juncture I feel it to be important to reflect back upon his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys and where I think the Cowboys should turn for their next head coach.

When Bill Parcells came to Dallas I was ecstatic. Having dealt with the Chan Gaily and Dave Campo the previous couple of years I would have been happy with any proven coach. Bill immediately retained Mike Zimmer from CampoÂ’s staff as his defensive coordinator and did very little to shake up the offensive player personal. This proved to be his most successful season in Dallas winning ten games. The Cowboys had the number one ranked defense (a 4-3 I might add) and Quincy Carter of all people started all 16 games a quarterback. Over the next two seasons he cut Carter and turned to Vinnie Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe at quarterback, he switched the defensive scheme to a 3-4 and he temporarily plugged holes with players like Keyshawn Johnson and Richie Anderson while have consistently poor drafts and missing the playoffs twice. This past season it looked as if it was all going to unfold, but then Tony Romo (a player former assistant head coach Sean Peyton invited to try out three years earlier) stepped in and revamped an offense that Parcells seemed incapable of running. The end of the season was marked by defensive failures, Romo trying to be a hero and ultimately dropping a snap that cost the Cowboys their season. Now I donÂ’t know how far the Cowboys could have gone in the playoffs this past season, but after four years in Dallas there was really no excuse that Parcells didnÂ’t have at least one playoff victory under his belt with the Cowboys. DonÂ’t get me wrong, the Cowboys are in better shape then they were before Parcells came in and there is a very good possibility that the next coach will lead this team to a Super Bowl.

So the burning question here is who is going to replace Bill. In a perfect world Jerry would confess his hidden love for Jimmy Johnson and beg the master to come back and lead AmericaÂ’s Team again. Jimmy would bring back Norv Turner, Dave Wannstedt, and Butch Davis on his staff. However, this is a silly dream and probably wonÂ’t happen. So, who are the real candidates? My first call would be to Urban Meyer. He just won a National Championship and he has turned around many a college program. I think he has a great football mind and that is really the kind of coach I would like to see in charge of the Cowboys. Aside from him other people I would interview would be Bob Stoops, Charlie Weiss, Mike Sherman, Steve Mariucci, Ron Rivera, Wade Phillips, Norv Turner, Tony Sparano, Rob Ryan, Jim Bates, and Dan Reeves. I know there are some defensive names there, but I think that the Cowboys should be turning to an offensive mind. I would also like to see a younger coach because that seems to working for a lot of other teams right now. Although my first pick was Meyer, I would also stay away from college coaches because they also have bad track records. Getting a players coach would be the biggest mistake the Cowboys could make, in fact no one should ever hire a players coach. So, if I had to pick one of those realistic candidates right now, I would pick Mariucci because he is offensive minded, young enough, and he has previous head coaching experience.