MIAMI -- Bill Parcells was his usual self, which means, he wasn't in the mood.
"How long's this gonna take?" he asked, before agreeing to only his second wide-ranging interview since taking over the
Dolphins last December.
"I absolutely don't want to coach again, but I love teaching -- even more, I love teaching the coaches," said Parcells, who can be seen after practice talking to head coach Tony Sparano or showing a lineman how to shed a block. "I enjoy the process, acquiring and teaching players to mold them into a competitive unit. I think of myself as a guidance counselor."
"The Patriots were 9-39 (over three years) before I got there, the Jets 10-38, the Cowboys 15-33. I think I know how to turn it around."
Parcells said the "reservoir" of coaching thousands of players has taught him a few things, among them, that "confrontation is healthy."
"I learned it from my mother," said Parcells who grew up in northern New Jersey. "I think if you put the cards on the table, it reduces sensitivity. OK, and maybe I use a little verbal castigation now and then."
"I have certain non-negotiables," said Parcells. "I want height in my linebackers (goodbye Zach Thomas). I want pressure players, guys who can get to the quarterback. When we scout, we look for defensive lineman who can move back. Harry Carson was a defensive lineman in college, so was Matt Millen, so was Willie McGinest. They have to be all over the field. I'm not going to change."
Parcells said his coaching/teaching influences came from four greats -- Chuck Noll, Chuck Knox, Al Davis and Tom Landry. From them, he learned how to coach and how to deal with the media.
It was fitting, in both categories, that at the end of practice Tuesday, Parcells was working with wide receiver Davone Bess -- teaching him the stiff-arm.
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