ANALYSIS : Logically, Giants Made Right Move in Going for Reeves, Not Parcells

Bill Parcells was named coach of the New England Patriots about the same time the New York Giants began negotiations with former Denver Broncos Coach Dan Reeves.

In New York, this strikes some fans as two acts of outrage: 1) If Parcells really wanted to coach again, then why didn’t the Giants take him? 2) How can Reeves, an American Football Conference coach, expect to win in the National Football Conference East?

Actually, there is perfect logic to the hiring of Parcells and the hiring of Reeves.

It is clear Giants general manager George Young had questions about Parcells’ commitment to coach for the next five seasons. When you select a coach, you want someone who will be around at least that long.

It was only two years ago that Young watched Parcells announce his retirement from the Giants.

It was only a year ago that Parcells weaved in and out of job possibilities with Tampa Bay and Green Bay.

Immediately after rejecting a generous offer from Tampa Bay, Parcells called one of his would-be assistant coaches and said, “We’re going to Green Bay.”

Then he didn’t.

Parcells would have been the easy way out for Young, because he was the man the fans and media wanted.

But Young’s decision to bypass Parcells was not a vendetta.

“I don’t even know how to spell vendetta,” Young says. “The one thing that bothers me is how people say that I’m letting my personal problems with Bill Parcells get in the way of making a rational decision.

“That’s just not true. He did wonderful for us here. I enjoyed some personal success because of the job he did here. We won two Super Bowls. That takes teamwork and an organization working together. That’s what we had here, so this vendetta stuff is (wrong).”

Young should have been talking to Reeves from the beginning, even before Tom Coughlin decided to stay at Boston College and Dave Wannstedt went to the Bears.

In 12 years as head coach of the Broncos, Reeves, 49, won 117 games and went to three Super Bowls. Is he supposed to apologize for that?

One NFL general manager says he is leery of Reeves’ strong personality. Well, it is going to take a strong personality to survive in New York. Except for an occasional blowup--which Parcells also used to have--Reeves has been terrific with the media.

Although there are questions about Reeves’ ability to judge talent, it may not be a big factor in New York, where he will benefit from one of the best personnel departments in football.

As for this AFC mentality, that’s a bit unfair. Reeves may not have stocked his offensive and defensive lines properly, but his offensive scheme is among the best in the NFL, and he has developed 1,000-yard rushers from scratch.

The team to beat in the NFC East is Dallas. In December, Reeves almost beat the Cowboys (losing, 31-27), although he was rotating Tommy Maddox and Shawn Moore at quarterback because John Elway was injured.

Recently, Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson told organizational people that one coach he didn’t want to see join the NFC East was Reeves. That was when Reeves’ name had been linked to the Phoenix Cardinals, who decided to retain Joe Bugel.

The Giants got lucky. They’re going to get the best coach, after all.

The hiring of Parcells in New England was one of intrigue. Patriots Owner James Orthwein made the decision knowing he is likely to sell the club this summer when St. Louis is awarded an expansion team. Orthwein is the front man in the St. Louis expansion effort.

Before he made his decision, Orthwein likely discussed the situation with the top groups bidding for the Patriots. Parcells is a member of one such group.

Parcells’ negotiations with Orthwein were tedious, much as they were with the Buccaneers. He wanted every detail in writing, including a generous budget for his assistant coaches, control of personnel and a commitment to compete for veteran free agents. He got them all.

There is no doubt Parcells was concerned about his ability to hire the best coaching staff.

He would have liked to hire former Giants assistant Mike Pope. But Pope has been promoted by the Cincinnati Bengals from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator.

Parcells would have liked to bring in another former Giants assistant, Al Groh, as defensive coordinator. But the Cleveland Browns made an interesting move, promoting Groh from linebackers coach to offensive coordinator.

Parcells’ choice for an offensive coordinator had to be one of two respected friends, Ron Erhardt or Dan Henning. But Erhardt just finished the first year of a two-year contract as offensive coordinator with the Steelers. And Henning has two years remaining on his three-year deal as offensive coordinator with the Lions.

Timing wasn’t on Parcells side.

Perhaps it is disturbing that no minority candidates were hired by the four teams looking for a head coach.

Tony Dungy, the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator, openly expressed his disappointment. He didn’t even get interviewed. This is wrong.

Otherwise, it is difficult to argue with the choices that were made.

Wannstedt was the hottest assistant on the hottest team.

The Giants had to go for Reeves.

The Patriots had to go for Parcells.

The Broncos’ pursuit of Mike Shanahan, before deciding on defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, was a natural. Shanahan is a former Broncos assistant coach, has head-coaching experience (with Raiders), did a great job as offensive coordinator with San Francisco and is a friend of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Elway.

Why didn’t Dungy get a call? Mostly, everybody says that Dungy is smart and an excellent teacher. But his “presence” is in question. He is soft-spoken and some may be concerned about his ability to project to his players and the public.

Of course, some of the same executives said the same thing about Mike Holmgren, who just completed a 9-7 rookie season as coach of the Packers.

You could also be describing the 49ers’ George Seifert.

Richie Petitbon, the assistant head coach/defense of the Redskins, has more reason to be angry than Dungy. Petitbon has paid his dues and has one of the game’s best minds. He wanted the Bears’ job but didn’t get it.

Unfortunately, the gray area leaves everybody wondering about black vs. white.