Bill Parcells is back for sure, taking over the Dallas Cowboys to end any doubt about his return to the NFL.
Parcells was introduced on Thursday by the team after more than a week of speculation and conflicting reports about a coach with a history of walking away from deals.
The two-time Super Bowl winner was hired three days after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired Dave Campo, saying he wanted a proven coach and a ``change in philosophy.''
``I'm energized, determined and I look forward to being part of the community here in Dallas,'' said Parcells, already wearing Cowboys colors -- a silver-and-blue striped tie. ``I know what station football occupies on all levels in the state of Texas.''
Parcells, who got a four-year contract reportedly worth US$17.1 million, will try to turn around a team that went 15-33 in the last three seasons. He is the first Cowboys coach with prior experience as an NFL head coach.
Dallas won the last of its five Super Bowls -- three under Jones -- in 1996, and the Cowboys haven't had a winning record since 1998.
Jones described Parcells as the ``most qualified coach in our sport that you could draw up if you were drawing your own Rembrandt.''
The 61-year-old Parcells coached 15 seasons for three teams, taking the New York Giants, New England Patriots and New York Jets from losing records to the playoffs in two seasons.
He led the Giants to their only two Super Bowl victories, took the Patriots to the NFL title game and the Jets to the AFC championship game.
After leaving the Jets, Parcells said he never wanted to coach again. He even wrote a book: ``The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL.''
That was seven years after he took the Patriots job, saying that would be his ``last coaching job, without question.''
Still, he signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year but changed his mind. He also backed out of an agreement with the Bucs in 1992.
Parcells is 138-100-1 in regular-season games and 11-6 in the playoffs. Only four coaches have more postseason wins.
Parcells declined to say whether he would invite running back Emmitt Smith to return, or whether he would bring in a new quarterback. The Cowboys started two young quarterbacks this season.
Campo was fired Monday after being the first Dallas coach with three straight seasons of at least 10 losses. He also became the first coach to leave with a losing record and the only one never to lead the Cowboys to the playoffs.
Parcells seems like a good pick to turn the team around.
The Giants were 4-5 in the strike-shortened season before Parcells took over in 1983. They made the playoffs his second season and won the Super Bowl in his fourth and eighth seasons.
In New England, he took a team that was 2-14 before his arrival and got them into the playoffs in his second season. They reached the Super Bowl in his fourth season. Then he left for the Jets, which went from 1-15 without him to the AFC title game two years later.
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