The New York Jets rivalry with the New England Patriots has seldom been for the faint of heart. From ex-coach Rex Ryan refusing to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings to former Jets linebacker Bart Scott being unable to “wait,” the heated war between the bitter AFC East rivals has seen more acrimony than détante.
However, the catalyst of the Jedi-Sith-like feud between both franchises may be traced back to hiring of then-Pats head coach Bill Parcells to the same position with the Jets in 1997.
In fact, the fourth episode of “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” on Apple+ — a docuseries which takes an in-depth look at the success of the “evil empire” to the north — shows that the bitter feelings between Parcells and Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft will not sweeten in the foreseeable future.
“We finally got some success, but I felt like Kraft wasn’t always in line with the things that I knew to be in the best interest of building a team,” Parcells said in the docuseries. “Kraft had no real background in football, and in his inexperience, took the draft away from me and he gave it to somebody else.
“I felt like some people that were incompetent were making decisions for the organization personnel-wise, and I didn’t like it. I knew I wasn’t going back to the Patriots.”
Despite achieving a respectable level of success, the pair fostered a contentious working relationship for much of their tenure together in New England. Parcells grew increasingly frustrated with his lack of personnel control, with Kraft instead empowering people he believed were “incompetent” to construct the Patriots roster.
The friction between both sides reached its crescendo ahead of the team’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. Just days before the teams were set to square off at the Superdome in New Orleans, word leaked that Parcells was planning to leave New England to coach the Jets. The rumors proved to be true, as evidenced by Parcells failing to travel back to New England with his players after their loss to the Packers. After reaching an agreement to dissolve his contract with the Patriots, Parcells was hired as New York’s head coach.
In retort, Kraft questioned Parcells’ commitment to the concept of “team.”
“With Coach Parcells, I didn’t feel he always put the team first,” Kraft said. “He was making decisions that were best for Bill Parcells, as opposed [to] for the New England Patriots. I promised myself that in the future, I would find a coach that truly put team first.”
For the Patriots, Kraft’s “coach” eventually became Bill Belichick — whose infamous resignation as “HC of the NYJ” allowed New England to hire him in 2000. Parcells former top assistant would guide the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships in his 24-year tenure with the club.
Still, the Jets’ union with Parcells — though brief — was considered an overall success. The man nicknamed “the Big Tuna” turned the 1-15 Jets into a 9-7 playoff contender in only his first season at the helm. With a 12-4 record in 1998 and the Jets won the AFC East, while falling just short of beating the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game. Overall, he finished his Jets coaching tenure with 29-19 record, becoming the Jets coach to leave the team with a winning record after coaching at least two seasons.
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