The New York Jets have had 22 head coaches in their franchise history. Twenty of them completed their tenures with the team without a winning record. The man who succeeded Bill Parcells in 2020, Al Groh, had a 9-7 won/loss record. Parcells is the only other coach to earn a winning mark while mentoring the team that on the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm was responsible for a man’s suicide.
In his three years running the Jets, Parcells compiled a 30-20 mark and guided the franchise to the American Football Conference Championship Game in 1998.
In 1997, the Chicago Bears were a last place team.They won only four games that year and hosted the Jets on November 16. I had the Bears that day plus the three points and lost while the Jets took the road triumph, 23-15. As the final seconds ticked off in the Jets victory Parcells let out a cheer and raised his hands with a celebration more indicative of a team winning a Super Bowl than simply beating an overmatched opponent on the road.
I have long respected Parcells, he is on a pedestal with my appreciation as a coach for both his football knowledge and handling of his players' individual needs. He is also someone who I noticed in interviews understood my business. Parcells revealed with the media that he was aware of circumstances that could affect his team’s performance outside of his control. Where John Madden would discard things he couldn’t control with disdain, Parcells had respect for those factors.
I smiled even after losing that game in 1997 because there was Parcells acknowledging what a tough motivational spot his team was in and overcame. He knew that beating the Bears at Soldier Field that day was a tall order no matter how the media was viewing the game while promoting a superior Jets squad meeting a last place Bears unit.
Motivation is the key to winning in the National Football League, particularly against the point spread. The points given to an underdog mostly covers the talent gap between the competing squads. But the submarine of factors, those not viewed by most people wagering on the game, are immensely important in driving the final result.