Parcells believes he’s misunderstood

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/07/22/parcells_believes_hes_misunder.html

Parcells believes he’s misunderstood

By Edgar Thompson | Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 08:46 PM

In case you’ve forgotten, Bill Parcells will appear tonight on HBO’s award-winning Real Sports, which airs at 10.

Relaxing at his home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y, Parcells sits down with reporter Andrea Kramer and touches on a variety of topics.

Parcells reveals, among other things, that his concern for his players belies his tough-guy, old-school reputation.

“That’s a big misconception, that there’s no compassion,” Parcells said. “When you see players, the average person doesn’t see what I’ve seen.

“You don’t see them getting on those planes in the middle of the summer, cramping up, carrying their own I-V’s and trying to keep their bodies from going into spasm.”

Kramer quickly reminds Parcells how he showed little empathy when ex-Patriots kicker Matt Bahr vomited during a practice. “Tell him to throw up on his own time!” Parcells said at the time.

Mixing his soft and tough side in a 30-second span, Parcells called Bahr his “favorite kicker,” but added, “All he has to do is kick. You can throw up and kick. You don’t have to play.”

Parcells also cleared up another possible misconception: that he will be pulling the strings behind the scenes this season or has designs on returning to coaching.

Parcells, who said he’ll likely watch Dolphins games alone and might not travel with the team, said won’t be calling down to the sideline with advice for Tony Sparano or checking in with halftime adjustments.

“You’ll never have to worry about that,” Parcells said. “That will be one thing anybody who knows me knows you don’t have to worry about that.”

One of the people who knows Parcells best, Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning, actually dropped by his boss’s house and sat down with Kramer at Parcells’ behest.

Henning, a friend of Parcells’ for 40 years, said Parcells won’t ever stop coaching in some form.

“You know,” Henning said, “he comes down to the field and when he sees something once in a while, he’ll walk over to a player, pull them aside and talk to them about how to catch a punt or how to hold his hands if he’s a receiver or how to drop his weight and get his body in position if he’s playing linebacker.

“He talks to players all the time.”

But Parcells says he’ll do the heavy lifting for his new job this season early in the week, when the team is reshaping the roster for the next game.

Parcells, 66, said that would never change.

“We’re not going to be sitting here five years from now talking about some coaching job,” he said. “I can promise you that.”

The best news for Dolfans is that Parcells sounds undaunted by rebuilding the 1-15 Dolphins. After all, 11 seasons ago he took over a 1-15 Jets team and coached them to a 9-7 record in 1997.

“That’s the best!” he said of turning around a franchise. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”