The NFL Films-produced Bill Parcells documentary on NFL Network was a fantastic look into the man Chiefs head coach Todd Haley says is the greatest coach ever. The 90-minute documentary showed just how much of the Parcells influence is evident in Kansas City.
It's worth watching any opportunity you can get. Perhaps what struck me the most was the stunning loyalty Parcells received from his players. Guys would say at the time of playing for him that it was miserable. 10 years later they'd say they don't know where they'd be without him.
Here's a review of a few notes I took during the documentary:
Curtis Martin: "I believe in a way he really saved my life."
Martin's segment -- or as Parcells called him "Boy Wonder" -- was arguably the best. He played a game as a Patriot against Parcells' Jets after he had left New England. He says he would glare at him during the game and afterward Parcells came up and said, "Who are you sending all those dirty looks to, boy wonder?" And Martin said something like, 'You know coach it's just my competitive spirit.' Then he says, "I love you coach." Parcells says, "I love you too Boy Wonder."
You know who Martin almost sounded like? Larry Fitzgerald talking about Todd Haley this week. I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'. There's loyalty and then there's Parcells loyalty.
Phil Simms: "When you played well, he's not going to go "Ohh you're awesome" because he expected that."
Simms and Parcells argued constantly and Simms said he gained respect in the locker room for standing up to Parcells. Simms says all these years later he's thankful he played for Parcells.
Parcells: "[Thanks] for what? We didn't do anything yet."
Parcells: "Dumb players do dumb things."
We've heard very similar quotes from Todd Haley, if not exactly the same. It's incredible, after watching this documentary, how many coaches -- not just Haley -- have a Parcells influence. Simms even says he'll find himself quoting Parcells to this day.
They showed several clips of Parcells telling people that he "wasn't going to go much longer" and he's "getting too old for this". The reaction was always skepticism -- "Noo, are you serious?" -- and Parcells would say, 'No I mean it!'. Bill Belichick says Parcells talked about retiring after the 1986 season and it appears he's talked about retirement ever since. He says in one segment that he'll never coach again and then the screen flashes "Nine minutes later" and Parcells is saying, "Get me back out there" and 'I can do this one more time'.