Parcells' Paranoia

Watching Bill Parcells get all wound up and worried because a high school coach was taking notes in the bleachers at training camp this week, reminds me again, how paranoid this man is. I keep thinking if he made a little more effort to get to know the people around him, maybe he wouldn’t have to be so paranoid.

Parcells was hired by Jerry Jones on January 02, 2003. Being around and covering the team, I kept thinking I might someday actually run across the guy in a hallway, and say hello. I’m not a beat writer, but I am there a lot. Even Tom Landry could be stopped in the hallway, for a quick hello.

So on Thursday August 04, 2005, more than two and a half years after he was hired, I decided to approach the man. He was busy chumming with a writer, so I stepped in and introduced myself. It wasn’t a long conversation, in fact, there was no conversation. But at least, I had finally shaken his hand.

I mentioned this to Dale Hansen, who informed me that he had yet to meet the guy, and doesn’t mind keeping the streak unbroken. You direct questions at the man during press conferences, but that’s where the relationship ends. How strange that Parcells would not find it necessary, to meet some of the local members of the media, but this is how he operates. Folks close to him at Valley Ranch tell me, that he has his so-called, inner circle, and that’s it. If you can’t bring something to the Bill Parcells table, then he apparently doesn’t have time for you. Shame! Shame! But apparently, his mole like behavior is just as apparent around the Cowboys offices.

If he is that overly consumed in doing his job, than maybe he needs to hire a staff that can help him out a bit. Yet in his defense, people tell me all the time, this is exactly what makes him a great coach. He is totally focused, has a no nonsense approach, and that means, no time for anything but football.

Of course the media is still not allowed to shoot eleven on eleven drills, which kills any chance of getting some good, hard hitting video during training camp. He gives a lame excuse, dating back to the 1991 Super Bowl. He claims he was watching TV, and saw Buffalo run a draw play during practice. So, he prepared his defense to stop it. Only trouble is, Thurman Thomas ran for 135 yards on just 15 plays, not to mention a 31-yard touchdown in the fourth period to give the Bills the lead. A lot of good his preparations did, but he did win the game.

Perhaps some day he will step away, and actually take time to meet the local sports reporters and anchors. Why not sit down with Dale Hansen, or the other local anchors. I don’t think he’s a terrible man, just a man that has no time for the media. Maybe one day he’ll realize his job wouldn’t be so lucrative if it wasn’t for the media, but then again, probably not. Paranoia reins supreme.