Bill Parcells doesn’t get to buy the groceries in Canton, but he does have some suggestions about where to put the furniture.
Referring to his new bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Parcells had a suggestion as to where it should be located.
“I’d like to be somewhere near Lawrence Taylor so I can keep an eye on that sucker,” Parcells said.
Finding talent and channeling it is the reason Parcells was on the stage Saturday night. He built a reputation by coaching the Giants to two Super Bowls, and turning around teams. He made the Patriots, Jets and Cowboys better than he found them, taking all four of the teams he coached to the playoffs.
But in his speech, he thanked everyone from the personnel men who taught him to the secretaries who helped keep organizations on track, spreading the praise around.
Many of his own former assistants, including Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick, were on hand for the evening, and that legacy of teaching the teachers might be among the highest praise to be given to any coach.