Dec 27, 2007 12:38 pm US/Eastern
The Big Tuna Arrives At Fins' Training Camp
DAVIE (CBS News) ―
It's a big day for the Miami Dolphins as Bill Parcells, the team's new Vice President of Football Operations, arrives at training camp.
Earlier this month, Parcells signed a four year contract with the team.
"Bill's accomplishments put him among the most successful head coaches in NFL history, and this position was created to take advantage of his unique background and expertise," said Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga. "We all know the respect that he has around the NFL. He has a proven track record of success everywhere he has been in the National Football League, and his football acumen will help put the Miami Dolphins franchise back among the elite of the NFL."
Parcells had been considering a position with the Atlanta Falcons before cutting a deal with Huizenga.
"I'm honored to join such an illustrious franchise as the Miami Dolphins and to work for one of the best owners in the league in Wayne Huizenga," said Parcells. "He shares my same commitment to winning and I told him I would do everything I can to help turn around the team's fortunes.
"I respect what the Dolphins name means – the legacy of the Perfect Season, and people like Coach Shula, Dan Marino and so many others who have made the team one of the most successful franchises in the NFL. I'm looking forward to helping restore that winning tradition."
With Parcells in the lead, Fin-fans are looking forward to the new direction the hard luck team could take.
"He's been a winner for the Jets, the Giants and Dallas so hopefully he'll bring some winning our way," said fan hopeful Jim Wickman.
"I think nothing but good can come out of this. I think it's a great move and he wants to do it fast from what I hear. So in the next couple of years maybe we can be a play-off contender," said Dave Rogers.
Parcells, known by the nickname 'The Big Tuna', won two super bowls as coach of the New York Giants before retiring due to health problems after his second Super Bowl victory.
He later accepted a job coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but left bad feelings in the Bay area when he backed out of the deal, saying it 'didn't feel right.'
In 1992, Parcells took up the clipboard for the New England Patriots and turned a perennial loser into a Super Bowl team in just 4 years, only to lose to New Orleans.
Parcells quit the team, and when he agreed to coach the NY Jets, his former team threatened to sue until the NFL smoothed feelings. His jets never reached the Super Bowl, and Parcells retired for a second time in 1999.
However, his coaching days were not over. The owner of the losing Dallas Cowboys lured Parcells out of retirement in 2003, clinching a playoff berth in his first season, and a second just 3 years later.
Last January, he announced his third retirement, and this season has done game analysis for ESPN.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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