The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL [Hardcover]

Bill Parcells (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2000

In 1998, Bill Parcells turned his New York Jets into a legitimate championship contender, setting up high expectations for the next season. But the Jets lost six of the first seven games of the 1999-2000 season, a hopeless slide that in mid-season miraculously turned around, resulting in a respectable 8-8 final record. Then Parcells resigned, and his annointed successor quit the next day.

In The Final Season, Parcells tells the whole story of this challenging season. He provides a stunningly forthright assessment of the day-to-day challenges, injuries, and controversies that hampered his team, and the tenacity and drive -- instilled by Parcells -- that enabled them to rise from the ashes.

As unsparing as Parcells himself, The Final Season is an unusual look into the inner workings of an NFL team and into the mind of a brilliant coach.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Football genius Bill Parcells isn't one to mince words. "I'm 56 years old," he says at the beginning of The Final Season, "and I don't intend to be coaching when I'm 60." Unless something changes radically, he's already honored that intention with three years to spare.

The coach who led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories and turned the New England Patriots into AFC champions came back to New York in 1997 to tackle the rebuilding of the woeful 1-15 Jets. Within a year they were legitimate contenders, playing for the AFC Championship. When the 1999-2000 season kicked off, hopes were soaring at the Meadowlands. But there was new ownership to contend with. Keyshawn Johnson demanded a renegotiation. Injuries sidelined Wayne Chrebet, and quarterback Vinnie Testaverde went down in the season opener, lost for the year. Suddenly, the Jets were 1-6. Then came the turnaround. Sparked by the inspired--and unexpected--play of third-string QB Ray Lucas, the Jets wound up winning seven of their last nine, and then, equally unexpected, Parcells retired as head coach. In perhaps the season's most bizarre fiasco, his designated heir, Bill Belichick, resigned immediately.

The Final Season is Parcells's week-by-week account of the campaign. If you love football, the chronicle is good inside football. Parcells provides detailed analysis of every win and loss and uncensored assessments of his players, himself--"Our general manager (that would be me) didn't have a great year," he admits--and the flap-turned-farce that attended his exit. But it's more than that, too. Final Season is a story of ups and downs, of strong emotions, of coping with frustration and disappointment, and of unifying a team when the chips are down. Parcells is savvy, complex, never shy, and never boring. With The Final Season, he cannily marches readers down the field just as he did his teams. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly

The 1999-2000 football season did not turn out the way that Parcells, the former head coach of the New York Jets, had envisioned. Instead of contending for a championship, the Jets' year was ruined when their starting quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, suffered a season-ending injury in the first game. Without Testaverde, as well as a number of other key players, the Jets stumbled badly at the beginning of the season before rallying to finish the year with a respectable 8-8 record. An important part of the Jets' resurgence was Ray Lucas, selected by Parcells to play quarterback after Testaverde's initial replacement, Rick Mirer, failed to spark the team. In one of the more revealing aspects of his week-by-week account of the season, the usually decisive Parcells is seen wavering between Mirer, talented but struggling, and Lucas, a natural leader but unproven. Not until Lucas took the quarterback reins did the Jets' season take off. With the help of veteran Boston Globe columnist McDonough, Parcells touches on all the action surrounding the Jets on and off the field in his last season, including the search for a new owner (following the death of longtime owner Leon Hess), the trade of Keyshawn Johnson and the bizarre resignation of Bill Belichick, Parcells's designated heir as Jet coach who ended up as coach of the New England Patriots. Written in Parcells's straightforward style, this memoir doesn't aim to settle old scores, although Parcells does issue a few barbs, with the sharpest directed at Johnson's agent, Jerome Stanley. While Parcells's fans may be disappointed that the famously opinionated coach is not more outspoken, there are enough new nuggets to make this a must read for Jet and Parcells followers alike. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 235 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (September 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688174914
• ISBN-13: 978-0688174910
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Final Press Conference as Coach of the Jets, September 12, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL (Hardcover)

Whether you love Bill Parcells or hate him, you'll never forget him. This memoir of the 1999 season as head coach of the New York Jets is a pure Parcells press conference with him at his best. No matter whether he wins or loses, he knows how to put his game face on to look good in public. And that's what he did here. But to do that he had to (as usual) rely on play-action offense to draw attention away from what the coach and general manager were doing. As a result, I graded the book down two stars for lack of candor.

Now I am as sympathetic to the problems that he had in this last season as the next fan. When you lose nine starters including a top receiver and one of the game's best quarterbacks early in the season, you aren't going to do all that well in the NFL. Certainly, obtaining a record of 8-8 under those circumstances is nothing short of a miracle. If I were grading the season's record instead of the book, I would give him a five star review.

But there were some curious moments along the way that you may remember. When Vinnie Testaverde went down for the season in the first game against the Patriots with a torn Achilles tendon, Tom Tupa came in and moved the team very well. Then, inexplicably to many, Parcells chose to go with Rick Mirer as quarterback until late in the season when he began to use third stringer, Ray Lucas. Lucas was terrific, and helped the team achieve that improved record. Parcells primarily justifies picking and sticking with Mirer too long in this book as good football thinking. The loyalty is nice, but I find it hard to believe that he is expressing his real views here. If Lucas had come in sooner, the Jets would have made the playoffs.

The second problem with candor is that as the season moved on, he has less and less to say in the book. That's when the season just gets interesting. How does he coach the team to all those wins? You won't find out too much from the book in this regard. He does describe a few of his favorite head games of using the press to motivate the team, but there had to be more to the success than that. Of course, if he had gone with Ray Lucas sooner, the team probably would not have been 1-6 in the first place.

The third problem with the book is that Parcells tells you 10 stories of how players misexecuted a play for every one that he tells about how Parcells made a mistake. Why would a general manager and coach focus on building a team around such poor players? Hmmm.

The book's best parts are when he is in a good mood. During training camp he shares his standard speech, which is quite interesting for explaining his philosophies. He also tells some funny stories about players who didn't follow his rules, like the high draft choice who was found jogging wearing only in his sneakers one night. Other players are described as being caught for using steroids (even though they don't use them) because they are too dumb to be careful about which food supplements they eat.

The opening of the book is classic Parcells. "When I agreed to do this book, it was supposed to be the story of a . . . coach . . . as he goes through a winning season. The season didn't turn out that way. Our chance for a Super Bowl vanished in the first week when the team was decimated by injury." "To do the book after that was painful . . . ." "I'm not good at losing." This is from the introduction, yet he has much more to say in the book when he loses than when he wins. Figure that one out. My tentative explanation is that he quit on the book project part way through, and just went through the motions. He wouldn't accept that from a player. Why did he accept it from himself?

Parcells comes across very well when he shows his loyalty. He has only wonderful things to say about Leon Hess, the owner who died during the season. He is mostly complimentary about Lawrence Taylor. He avoids slamming Bob Kraft, the Patriots owner, whom he clearly detests. In fact, one of the better stories is about the defection of Bill Belachick from the Jets after Parcells retires as coach. Parcells decides to call Bob Kraft to see what can be worked out. When Kraft comes on the line, Parcells tells him that it's Darth Vader. That breaks the ice, and Belachick is able to come to the Patriots as general manager and coach. As of this writing, it's 0-2 for the Patriots under Belachick and the Jets under Al Groh provided one of those defeats. Darth Vader may get the last laugh on this deal.

When I read a book like this, I always wonder if Parcells knows how much he is hiding . . . or if he is even hiding from himself. You and I will never know. I don't think he'll let us get that close to his real thoughts.

After you read the book, I suggest that you ask yourself where you have overly rosy ways of describing your own performance as a person and in your working life. Those misconceptions can cause you to underperform. Then once you've spotted those areas, think about what would make you feel terrific about being more honest and candid about what is actually taking place. You'll feel a hundred pounds lighter before you're done.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Last chapter of a great career, October 11, 2000

By 

Mitch Reed (Washington DC, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL (Hardcover)

I have allways been a Bill Parcells fan, and reading this book gave me great insight into his football life. From cover to cover Parcells give a Tuna-eye view of a year in the life of a successful head coach. He pulls no punches, when in comes to player (Eric Green, LT, Ray Lucas), the Refs, and various members of the NFL (Bill Belichick). I found it very easy to read (3 days, if you are busy)and quite entertaining. For anyone who is a diehard Tuna fan, this book covers no new ground, yet you should read it anyway, for he interesting spin he gives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A half-hearted effort, July 12, 2001

By 

Bruce Allen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL (Hardcover)

I looked forward to this book with great anticipation. Bill Parcells and his legacy here in New England and how he left the team were front page news here. His personality is larger than life. His press conferences were must-see TV.

That said, this book was disappointing. It started out well, the first portion of this book is riveting, and gives you real insight into his thoughts, and how he puts a team together. Where it goes downhill is after the Jets very first game of the '99 season where they lose multiple starters for the season, including the starting QB. Going into the season the Jets were considered by many people a favorite for the SuperBowl. If it were to follow the team through a season like that, it would've been a great read throughout. Instead, after those injuries, Parcells basically mails it in for the rest of the book, in my opinion. What could've been a great book instead becomes a mediocre effort.