Inside the Legendary Career of ‘The Big Tuna’ Bill Parcells | New York Giants

In this episode of The Vault, presented by Hackensack Meridian Health, we look inside the legendary career of 2x Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. As head coach from 1983-1990 Parcells helped fuel the Giants back to glory leading them to victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV.

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Talk about growing up in New Jersey and the early football influences for you when television first started I can remember first seeing Marty Glickman and he had a show called The Giant quarterback huddle and they would bring some of the players on Charlie Conley or Alex Webster they

Were like G guests in there and I can remember not being able to wait for for that show to come on so now as a kid growing up in Hasbro Heights and watching the Marty Glickman show now you have a chance to go coach with the New

York Giants what was that like for you professionally and personally you know that was my team it was who I lived and died with all the way from young boy through college it was exciting to go there very exciting when you go first as an assistant growing up knowing the

Giants history and knowing about Sam huff and how the giant defense would be introduced because they were really the stars and now you’re in charge of the Giants defense it must have you understood what it meant without question uh and we were changing philosophies to a three3 man line and

And of course we got Lawrence and and Jim Bert and several other guys that year and there were a period of about two or three years there where you put that defense in front up there and they couldn’t block any of them and that’s a pretty secure feeling as a coach to to

Have a defense up there where they couldn’t block any of them when you first got the nod to be the head coach of the New York Giants you go from defensive coordinator to now it’s your show what was that like and was it intimidating again it was very exciting

But I was really I made a couple of critical errors there my first year and one of them was not really just being myself I was trying to be a head coach and I thought I was supposed to do things a certain way and of course that

Didn’t work out well and we changed a lot of people after that 83 season a lot of people probably half the squad you made it pretty clear going into 84 that it was going to be done a certain way your way after 83 you know there was some uh more than strong

Rumors that I was going to be let go when they were going to hire someone else and when I did get the opportunity I said well if they’re going to get me it’s going to be on my terms fortunately I had a good support system there with the Giants and

The whole organization got behind me and and I probably wasn’t too easy to get behind in those days some of these guys got to get the head out of their ass around here a little bit Mercurial a little bit brush would be the word what the are you

Doing stand 10 yards in the back field get up on the line don’t you know how much time’s on the clock and I was probably pushing the envelope harder than I should have more determined than I ever was fortunately things fell in place and we started winning pretty

Regularly you know everyone thinks of parcels and you know good run game and strong defense but you looked at your team in 84 and you said I got this guy Sims he gives us the best chance right now he throws for over 4,000 yards what was the thought process behind putting

The ball in his hand and letting I felt like we needed to get more bigger bigger plays so I wanted to try to get a little more impetus in our offense and I wouldn’t say we’re a big play team but we could throw the ball down the field

And that’s really what I was was interested in doing the relationship with the great Phil Sims and and how it evolved and we needed each other I think I needed him I needed someone like him he understood me Phil look at when we call the the the white t

That’s who we’re trying to throw it to don’t be too inventive okay they took it he was not sensitive he could take it I could use him as a whooping boy on purpose which I would now he was fiery so he would respond hey Phil I’ll run

The game I know I don’t know who you sending in I’m sending goal line in somebody give me something I got time to make a call you you take who you want I’ll take him we’ll line up and we’ll play I’ll play him as you go to the 85 playoffs um you

Know the Bears having a great season did you think you guys were good enough to beat them yeah maybe two or three out of 10 that day and they could have have been had that day they could have been had that day but we made a couple

Critical errors Letta from his end zone Bears will get good field position oh he missed theball he missed the it’s Sean Gale that game was exasperating to me because when it was over I felt like a couple of years work was kind of out the window I really did

I felt like GE whz we got to get all the way back to this doing this again here I don’t know whether we could you know every you when you’re that experienced it now this is my second time through the playoffs you know how hard it is to get

Where we were and so that’s what kind of frustrated me after that game all of your players have referred to the fact of the off season of 86 and after that loss from the 85 playoff game the resolve that each guy felt individually that going to go right to work and you

Know we’re not leaving any stone unturned did you get a sense that that was a collective well I’ll give you the best example George Martin’s wife Diane God bless her called me up she said George has been playing a long time now coach I want him to retire she said but

If you ask him to play he’s going to play so I’m going to ask you please don’t ask him and I didn’t even bat an ey I said Diane I’m going to ask him and of course George played four more years after that so now you get to that next step the NFC

Championship Game and Washington Redskins and you know the third time well that was that was our fiercest rival and of course the elements were so much a factor that day and wound up being a tremendous Advantage probably the difference in the game for us our ability to do things in the elements

That Washington just couldn’t do we drove the ball into a 35 or 40 mph wind in the third quarter for a touchdown we kicked off to start the game and got a quick 10- nothing lead but that that touchdown drive into the wind in the third quarter was the difference in the

Game because took all the time off the clock for them to have the wind advantage and after that it was just once it was 17 nothing the quarter changed I knew they couldn’t p after what you went through in 83 and then the baby steps in 84 and 85 now you’ve won

The NFC Championship Game and you’re going to the Super well that was something new because it’s exciting again but it’s also the unknown because I haven’t been to a Super Bowl as a coach so I’m I’m trying to figure out what to do and I’m trying not to leave a

Stone unturned and you practice so well out in Pasadena were you scared that you know I know you love boxing that you might leave it in the gym we practiced very well for the Super Bowl we’d put a lot into getting ready six or seven

Practices I knew we were ready to go so your defense gets a goal line stand in the first half they want luckily yeah they W up missing the field why do you say luckily well because that game could have got out of hand it was already

Getting close to being out of hand and uh had they gone up 17 you know up to 17 you never know it is no good I told the team that half I hey said we’re lucky we’re fellas let’s not give this game away here I said let’s just go play come

On did you guys know how well Sims was playing oh yeah I knew he was playing well uh he told me in warm-ups he was ready to rock whatever you he just I me I remember saying whatever you want to do Bill Let’s Do It pitch Mar turns around back to Sims

On the Flea Flicker Sims is looking way down field he’s got a receiver complete down to the 10 five touchdown I believe Market at the one F the pock to the one yd line the Super Bowl champions are the Giants the Giants have accomplished something that many people thought they would never

See were you thinking the first time they dumped Gatorade on you Harry became the guy to do it well I think Bert and Harry were original because but then Harry made it a you know a festive thing Carson has changed shirts and he’s in the security uniform now and there it

Comes I had been on him so bad so when you know when you do some things you got to be let ready to let them do some things coaches are always thinking what’s next well there is no next game were you able to enjoy it to its fullest

Team part party after the game Charlie connley comes up sits down next to me puts his arm around me tell me how proud he is Charlie Conley 87 ruined strike the whole thing you know it just not a good year your nucleus is strong though because the

Drafts continually are good right 90 you have that good nucleus of the guys that you won with in 86 plus now you have the Young Veterans you had Otis running back you drafted Hampton who was still had Tim tman and megot tman and megot we were ready to go and Hampton’s giving

You that youthful burst um and you rattle off 10 in a row the superstitious the coach Parcels were you allowing yourself to think where you might go with this no or you just wanted a time no we took a bad beating in Philly the next week a game

Bavaro got ejected from we didn’t play well we weren’t really sharp you know 10 wins it gets this a psychology that takes over and it’s not good and you got to get punched in the mouth and that’s what happened and we didn’t we got beat

Again and it took us a while to get back on track and then we lost Phil Sims is down and getting up slowly Sims is starting to limp off the field here it’s a first down for the Giants now we’ll get Jeff Hostetler what did you and your staff know about Hostetler

That we didn’t intelligent mobile competitive is looking for Receiver right looks left throws in zone deep Baker touchdown what a call hedler turns rolls left looking throws in on I wouldn’t say battle tested but experience the enough that he should be functional provided we gave him a chance

To succeed we have to alter something specifically for Jeff to allow him to use his ability more than we would have done with Sims boot legs and we’re not going to be doing that with Sims as much as with Jeff these little things that we had in there for him helped and helped

Us win and he executed them very well so you’re going into the playoffs in 90 without your starting quarterback and Hampton then gets hurt after the 10 and0 and taking a couple beatings and then everybody getting hurt the Giants went off the radar screen which was perfect

For those vets that we had cuz they responded like they always did oh yeah well we’ll see about it and that’s what happened we did see about it well that takes us to the NFC championship game now and here you are greatest game I’ve ever coached it tough

Battle no one thinks you can win on the road I mean it’s perfect hosler’s toughness I mean you knew about it you had used it beat up in that game got really beat got knocked out of the game yeah had to put mad in yeah that’s true

And uh but he came back and hey he made the play to Steven Baker there on the sideline put us in full field goal range maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye but to me it was Bliss are going to Tampa Bay it’s over for the fre PS it’s [Applause] Over how important was it that You’ already played buffalo very important feel a better feel I remember Bill bich and myself talking about the pace how we had to do a better job with the pace of the game because that we had we had to

Do some things to try to slow that pace a little bit we had run run the ball pretty well on buffalo in preseason for a lot of yards and felt like we could shorten the game on them I like those N9 and 10 minute drives myself you know those are that’s players

Executing that’s megot that’s Ingram that’s hosler that’s you know Steven Baker that’s converting short yardages that’s football that’s not one big play one thing that is sustained execution sustained mental concentration you know how hard that is to do for 20 straight minutes well that’s what they did coming

Going in at half and coming out to start the third quarter that’s why they call him Champs are you twoo caught up in the moment to enjoy it as it’s happening Scott Norwood he can fire the shotard round the world now they’re lining up to kick this field goal and I’m saying to

Myself you know it would be a shame if we lose this game cuz we all played them so badly and and still they still had a an opportunity to their credit to win s Super Bowl James Giants win Giants win as uh Banks and Lawrence are

Carrying you off the field in Tampa are you two caught up in the moment to enjoy it as it’s happening that was really satisfying to win with that after losing your quarterback everybody said you can’t win without your starting quarterback well Jeff a prove that role Bill take it

Away so when you think about it here you are Hasbro kites you’re a giant fan growing up as a kid you become the head coach of the Giants one of the Giants coaches is Vince Lombardi another New York guy and your name is on two trophies New York Giant Vince Lombardi

Trophy and the head coach is Bill Parcels In Your Wildest Dreams no of course not God’s been good to me Bob he really has he’s been very good to me I’ve been very fortunate I mean I never felt like I had a real job it’s the

Truth it’s always been fun just go you got your guys and you got your team I still have it you have all these great experiences and you’ve had success you know and all the other places that you’ve gone you’ve you’ve rebuilt you’ve fixed you’ve gotten teams to successful

Points you fixed every place that you’ve been but the bottom line is is giant fans still consider you their coach even even though you went to the you’re their guy cuz you’re a decade well that’s I appreciate that very much because you can’t dismiss what happened there the

Rest of your life the rest of your life man nobody can ever tell you that you couldn’t do it cuz you did [Applause] it in my heart that’s what I am a giant there’s a whole generation you know there’s there’s your Youth and then there’s Me growing up during the

Horrible I mean it can’t you know my first Recollections are 70 71 72 I mean it’s it’s horrible I’ve been there for all of it my got and you were you are a central figure in rejuvenating a fan base well I appreciate that I had a lot of

Help I had a good support system a good front office tremendous ownership I couldn’t ask for anymore ladies and gentlemen presenting Bill Parcels for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame winners assemble as a team well tonight ladies and gentlemen I get to do just that I’m honored I’m

Grateful and I’m thankful to every single one of you out there that had something to do with this thank you very much wellingt marrow said once a giant always a giant tell me what it means to you pretty much everything that I have in this world is because of the

Mars and the family and the opportunity that they gave me as I think back on things in my time of place in your heart always reminds me that once you’re a giant you’re always a Giant