Parcells Tells NFL Falcons No
Bill Parcells Back Out of Deal with Atlanta Falcons
The Big Tuna has backed out of a deal to handle football operations for the Atlanta Falcons after reaching a preliminary agreement to run the NFL club.
Bill Parcells has backed out of an “agreement in principle” with the Atlanta Falcons under which he would have run football operations for the beleaguered franchise.
Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank released a statement Wednesday afternoon but gave sparse details regarding the breakdown of the deal, according to several news sources.
"Late last night it was revealed to the media by a source outside the Falcons that we were close to reaching an agreement with Bill Parcells to lead the club's football operations.
“Prior to the information becoming public, we had reached an agreement in principle with Parcells, and we met with him this morning to complete the contract. At that time, we were made aware by Parcells that he was considering a revised offer from the Miami Dolphins. He later informed us that he would not be signing a contract with us.
“We remain committed to looking at every option for building a championship-caliber team for our fans. I have stated we will leave no stone unturned in doing so, and this effort is one example of that. We gave it our best shot, and it didn't work out.
“We will continue down the same overall path, proceeding with plans to hire a general manager and a head coach. We will identify and consider every strongly viable candidate for these positions, with the goal of hiring the best. Rich McKay remains President of the club and will retain general manager responsibilities until a new GM is hired.
“We will be making no further comment on the Parcells matter."
Previous press reports indicated that Parcells predicted that there weren’t any snags in the negotiations, telling the New York Daily News, “We have some things to talk about. I will say this, I don't think it's anything real major."
Twice in recent years Parcells agreed to take positions with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, only to back out later. Ex-Falcons’ head coach Bobby Petrino bailed out on the franchise last week, less than a day after telling Blank he’d be staying with the team despite a horrendous 3-10 record. The day before Petrino’s resignation, ex-Falcons’ quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for his involvement in a dogfighting ring.
Parcells won two Super Bowls while coaching the New York Giants, and took the New England Patriots to a third. He also served as the head coach of the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys. He resigned as the coach of the Cowboys in January.
