Bill Parcells has been reported as the front runner to be the Saints interim head coach during Sean Payton‘s season-long suspension. Parcells has previously been noncommittal when discussing the rumors, but according to a report Wednesday by Newsday, the 70-year-old coach suggested he would take the gig if he was simply asked by Payton.
“If [Payton] says to me, ‘Bill, I need you to do this,’ that’s what friends are supposed to be for,” Parcells said.
“The thing with this one, it’s a little more personal to me, because this is one of my guys.”
Parcells brought Payton onto his staff as an offensive assistant with the Cowboys in 2003. Payton remained in Dallas until 2006 when he took the Saints job. Payton and Saints GM Mickey Loomis reportedly met with Parcells in Florida on Tuesday, but Parcells said the Saints job wasn’t discussed in detail.
“We literally did not talk about that job at all [Tuesday],” Parcells said. “The only thing he told me is, ‘You’re going to like this situation.’ I know a few of their players, just a couple. I think Sean wanted me to meet Mickey Loomis. I didn’t know him very well.
“They said they’d be in touch.”
As Pro Football Talk suggests, Payton’s consideration of Parcells might be a way of keeping a lock on his job. In Payton’s absence, if the Saints were to win the Super Bowl with a current assistant filling the head coaching role, Payton might find his job in jeopardy. But if the same happens under Parcells’ watch, when Payton returns the Big Tuna just rides off into the sunset with a pat on the back.
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