Sports

DAVIE (CBS News) ― It's a done deal. The Miami Dolphins have signed the Big Tuna Bill Parcells to a four-year contract to be their Vice President of Football Operations.

"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."

ESPN reported that Parcells faxed the signed contract back to the Miami Dolphins operation Thursday morning.

Parcells, who was considering a position with the Atlanta Falcons, negotiated the four-year 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."

On Wednesday, Parcells was on the cusp of accepting the job of rebuilding the Atlanta Falcons. He rebuked them in the afternoon, having apparently struck a deal with Miami.

Miami's players were caught off-stride by the news, which broke after they finished practice.

As for South Florida fans, they are buzzing about the new hire and positive new direction the fins could be headed for.

"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.

News of Parcells' possible new job reached players as they watched ESPN in the locker room Wednesday.

''We're going to have a new daddy,'' offensive tackle L.J. Shelton told the Miami Herald.

Defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday called the Parcells hiring a good thing.

''We talk a lot throughout this league and Bill Parcells is one of those names that if he comes in and he's on board, he's a guy that's going to get things going in the right direction,'' Holliday said.

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