Parcells Enjoys Old Excitement in a New Place

FOXBORO, Mass. â€”  Think Bill Parcells is excited about going to Super Bowl XXXI?

Oh, just a little.

After Parcells coached his New England Patriots to a 20-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday’s AFC title game at Foxboro Stadium, setting up a Super Bowl matchup with the Green Packers on Jan. 26 in New Orleans; and after Parcells had acknowledged the cheers of the crowd of 60,190, had talked to his players, had talked to reporters and had met with well-wishers, he finally made it home late into the night.

But he was unable to sleep.

“Your mind starts racing,� he said.

So, he was back in his stadium office working at 3 a.m. He viewed game film, woke team owner Bob Kraft at 4 a.m. to chat by phone and began the monumental task of guiding a Super Bowl team through the nightmare of hype and hysteria that is Super Bowl week.

In that, Parcells has an advantage over his rival, Green Bay’s Mike Holmgren, who has never been a Super Bowl head coach. Parcells twice took the New York Giants to football’s biggest show, winning on both occasions.

Among those he talked to in the wee hours of Monday morning was Lawrence Taylor, Parcell’s star linebacker in his days with the Giants.

“He told me that watching [Sunday’s game] made him feel like he was playing again,� said Parcells of Taylor. “He could feel his stomach in knots. And he said he doesn’t even normally like watching football. That’s special.�

By 6, Parcells was finished with his phone calls and game film and was busy preparing remarks he made to his players at 9:30.

“I told them I just want them to get ready to play in the Super Bowl,� Parcells said. “I told them that I and Bob Kraft and others would take care of everything else.

“The players want to know how many tickets they are going to get, how they are going to get their families there and where their families are going to stay. I want to give them peace of mind. I want everything settled once we get to New Orleans. When we get on that plane, we are not going to be talking about tickets. We are not going to be talking about rooms. We are going to be talking about football.�

After putting his players through wind sprints on the icy field Monday morning and then reviewing Sunday’s game, Parcells gave them the rest of the day off. They will be off today and Wednesday as well, resuming practice on Thursday. The team will fly to New Orleans on Sunday and practice starts again Monday.

“I am going to let them enjoy themselves,� Parcells said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.�