Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells got his gold jacket in 2013. Twelve years later, he got a red one.
It likely would have come earlier, but for an acrimonious exit after taking the team to Super Bowl XXXI. During his induction speech at the Patriots Hall of Fame, Parcells expressed regrets regarding the way things went.
“We sometimes reflect on things, and you wish you would have done things a little differently,” Parcells said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “I come back here and I see this, I wish I would have done things a little differently.”
He spent only four years with the Patriots, but he provided a kick start to a franchise that desperately needed it. And owner Robert Kraft knows it.
“Over the years, we’ve both mellowed,” Kraft said during his introduction of Parcells. “We’ve shared laughs, swapped stories and reflected on the foundation we built together. I want to say, ‘Thank you, Bill. Thank you for the fire. Thank you for the fight. Thank you for the foundation. And thank you for the many contributions you made to this franchise.’”
Parcells pushed his way out of New England in clunky fashion, with rumors overshadowing the days preceding a Super Bowl loss to the Packers. After the game, Parcells didn’t fly back with the team. Parcells eventually landed with the Jets — and the Patriots got multiple draft picks as compensation.
In contrast to Parcells, who left under ugly circumstances and then saw the relationship improve over time, former Patriots coach Bill Belichick left amid smiles and cordiality. Since then, it’s gotten very ugly. Which invites curiosity as to how long it will take for the Patriots to give Belichick a red jacket to wear over his Carolina blue hoodie.
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