Bill Parcells helped Rex get Jets job

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Once upon a time, Bill Parcells was the larger-than-life figure who saved the New York Jets from themselves, driving a hoax of a franchise to the brink of the Super Bowl. So maybe it was fitting that Parcells gave the Jets one last gift.

Maybe it was fitting that he notarized a candidate named Rex Ryan.

"I was very impressed with Rex when I met with him," Parcells said Tuesday night by phone. "I could just sense that, 'Hey, this guy's going to have a chance.'"

This was three years ago, when Parcells was the executive vice president of football operations for the Miami Dolphins and a man in dire need of a head coach. He sat down with Ryan and discovered a kindred spirit, a football lifer born in Oklahoma but one projecting that Parcellsian Jersey Guy vibe.

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Although Bill Parcells (shown with Jets owner Woody Johnson) wants none of the credit, his scouting report on Rex Ryan to Mike Tannenbaum helped land Ryan in Jersey.
If Parcells hadn't shared a strong working relationship with his former aide in Dallas, Tony Sparano, he likely would have hired Ryan on the spot.

"Yes, that's correct," Parcells said.

He went with Sparano, breaking Ryan's heart if not his resolve. A year later, after Eric Mangini went poof in the night, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum solicited his mentor's official scouting report on the Baltimore defensive coordinator with a big plan and a bigger mouth.

Parcells told his protégé he liked Rex and his pedigree, as in a lot, and Tannenbaum took it to the bank. On Jan. 21, 2009, the Jets made Ryan one of the franchise's Mount Rushmore hires, right there with Weeb Ewbank, Joe Namath and Bill Parcells.

"I had a fierce rivalry with Rex's father when I was coaching the Giants," Parcells said, "but I held Buddy in high regard. What made Buddy a dangerous adversary was that he knew what he was looking for personnel-wise, and Rex is the same way. That's a pretty good head start for Rex because there are quite a few coaches in this league who don't know what they're looking for."

No, Parcells didn't believe he was staring in the mirror when he met Ryan, a candidate who counted his prospective employer among his coaching idols. During Rex's two stunning years in New York, he's often been cast as a cross between his father and Parcells.