Today In Patriots History Aug 22, 2026: Happy 85th birthday to Bill Parcells

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Bill Parcells​

Hero or Zero?

Big Tuna is either loved or loathed, with very little Venn Diagram overlap amongst Patriot Nation.


Rather than rehash what all of us already know, here are a few somewhat obscure Parcells tidbits.

* William is neither his first nor middle name. When he was in high school he was often mistaken for another guy named Bill, and as he had always hated the name Duane growing up, he just went with Bill.

* Parcells played football, basketball and baseball in high school. No major colleges recruited him for football or baseball, but the Philadelphia Phillies did offer him a contract. That was turned down because, ironically enough, his father disapproved of a career in sports.

* He originally enrolled at prestigious Colgate University with the intention of pursuing a law degree.

* After his freshman year Parcells transferred to Wichita State, graduating with a degree in phys ed. Quite a 180 there.

* Detroit selected Parcells in the seventh round of the 1964 NFL draft, a linebacker in college that was being used at guard in training camp.

* He literally walked out of practice (and the NFL) early on in camp. I wonder how Parcells the coach would have treated Parcells the player?

On This Date: Bill Parcells Quits Detroit Lions after Training Camp Practice

Bill Parcells walked out of Detroit Lions training following a rigorous practice in the heat.

www.si.com

* At this point Parcells was considering two primary options: attending law school, or becoming a Pizza Hut franchise owner.

* Instead he chose Door #3, becoming an assistant coach at NAIA Hastings College (enrollment approximately 1,000). Dad must have been livid.

* While working as a linebackers coach at Army, he was also an assistant basketball coach - under Bobby Knight.



* In 1979 Parcells accepted an offer to become the Giants DC, but backed out because his wife and kids loved living in Colorado. (This would not be the last job he backed out of.) He worked in land development for a year before she relented.

* The name Big Tuna came from his his first NFL gig, as a linebackers coach for the Patriots in 1980 under Ron Erhardt. Some players thought they would pull a prank on Parcells, which he did not fall for. Parcells yelled at safety Rick Sanford, "Who do you think I am? Charlie the Tuna?" referencing the naive cartoon fish from then-current StarKist tuna commercials.



* He was nearly fired after his first year as head coach, falling to 3-12-1 after they went 4-5 in the previous strike-shortened year. During that season he decided to go with Scott Brunner at QB over Phil Simms. The only reason he kept his job is because University of Miami head coach Howard Schnellenberger turned down the Mara family's job offer.

* Parcells twice agreed to become the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then backed out at the last minute - not once, but twice.

* After turning down the Bucs in 1992, Ron Wolf offered him the Green Bay head coaching position. Parcells turned that down as well, and Wolf gave Mike Holmgren the job. Holmgren went on to defeat Parcells a few years later in Super Bowl XXXI.

* The second time he turned down the Bucs was ten years later, when Tampa fired Tony Dungy. Their second choice, Jon Gruden, led the Bucs to a 48-21 win in Super Bowl XXXVII in his first season in Tampa, right in the middle of the Pats first three championships.

* Parcells' daughter married Scott Pioli.

* He and his wife married while they were still students at Wichita, and remained married for forty years before divorcing in 2002.





*

 

[patfanken]

Great coach and worthy of the HOF in Canton, NOT the HOF in Foxboro.

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
The Early Years​

August 22, 1959:
Eight days after announcing the formation of a new football league, the six original owners signed Articles of Organization at a meeting in Dallas. The group announced the name of the new venture would be the American Football league.

​

History of the American Football League - 1959

In 1958, Texas oilman H. L. Hunt's son and heir, Lamar Hunt, wanted to bring professional football to Texas. He was rebuffed in his efforts to establish an NFL franchise there, and in 1959, decided to form a new professional football league, which he called the American Football League. In Chicago's Conrad Hilton Hotel, on August 14th, 1959, the franchises that initially joined Hunt's Dallas Texans were: K.S. (Bud) Adams' Houston Oilers, Harry Wismer's New York Titans, Bob Howsam's Denver Broncos, Barron Hilton's Los Angeles Chargers, and Max Winter and Bill Boyer's Minnesota franchise. By November they had been joined by Ralph Wilson's Buffalo Bills and William H. (Billy) Sullivan's Boston Patriots. In one of the first acts of treachery by the NFL against the new league, Winter was lured away from the so-called "Foolish Club" and promised a franchise in the established league. The eighth AFL franchise, replacing Minnesota, later became the Oakland Raiders, owned by a group including Chet Soda, Wayne Valley, E. J. McGah and Ed McGah Jr.​

Thus, Hunt's vision brought a new professional football league not only to California and New York, but to parts of the nation that did not have the game: New England, Colorado and Texas. It would later be brought to Missouri and Florida. The AFL also adopted the first-ever cooperative television plan for professional football, in which the league office negotiated an ABC-TV contract, the proceeds of which were divided equally among member clubs.​

On November 30th, Joe Foss, a WWII Marine flying ace and former governor of South Dakota, was named American Football League Commissioner. Foss commissioned a friend of Harry Wismer's to develop the AFL's classic eagle-on-football logo.​

1959 | Pro Football Hall of Fame

www.profootballhof.com

Lamar Hunt of Dallas announced his intentions to form a second pro football league. The first meeting was held in Chicago, August 14, and consisted of Hunt representing Dallas; Bob Howsam, Denver; K.S. (Bud) Adams, Houston; Barron Hilton, Los Angeles; Max Winter and Bill Boyer, Minneapolis; and Harry Wismer, New York City. They made plans to begin play in 1960.​

The new league was named the American Football League, August 22. Buffalo, owned by Ralph Wilson, became the seventh franchise, October 28. Boston, owned by William H. Sullivan, became the eighth team, November 22. The first AFL draft, lasting 33 rounds, was held, November 22. Joe Foss was named AFL Commissioner, November 30. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL, December 2.​

"The Foolish Club": the American Football League owners.
Seated left to right: Houston Oilers owner K.S. "Bud" Adams, Jr., AFL Commissioner Joe Foss.
Standing left to right: Boston owner Billy Sullivan, Denver owner Cal Kunz, Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson,
Dallas owner Lamar Hunt, New York owner Harry Wismer, Oakland owner Wayne Valley, San Diego owner Barron Hilton.​

 

[maust]

"Yes, he turned the franchise around and kept it in Massachusetts"

Krafty Bob is the only reason the Pats didn't end up in St Louis

 

[Patjew]

That is one old tuna!

 

[XLIX]

​

 

[grux]

Great coach. He turned us from laughing stock into a Super Bowl Contender. Drafted Bledsoe, McGinest, Law and Bruschi, players that would help lay the foundation for our first dynasty. I hope he gets into the HOF. Thanks coach.

 

[rkarp1]

Great coach and worthy of the HOF in Canton, NOT the HOF in Foxboro.

Parcells is already in both, no?
NFL HOF- 2013
NEPats HOF-2025 along side JE