PFT: Troy Aikman calls out Jerry for a 30-year Super Bowl drought

[America's Cowboy]

There’s no way Schottenheimer inherited a worse situation than Parcells did. Parcells took over a franchise that had gone 5-11 three straight years, had no franchise QB, and was still dealing with the fallout from the awful Joey Galloway trade, which cost Dallas two consecutive first-round picks and seriously hurt their ability to rebuild through the draft.

Despite that, Parcells immediately went 10-6 and made the playoffs with Quincy Carter. Schottenheimer inherited a team with Dak Prescott already established at QB and considerably more proven talent on offense. Yes, the defense was awful last year, but that doesn’t make the overall situation worse than what Parcells walked into.

Parcells also helped build the foundation with Romo, Witten, Ware, Newman, Barber, Ratliff, etc., and that roster went 13-3 the year after he left.

Maybe Schotty does better; I hope he does. But saying he inherited a worse situation than Parcells is a huge stretch.

If that roster went 13-3, the credit should go to the coach who actually coached them to that record. That would be Wade Phillips, not Bill Parcells. Wade Phillips went 13-3, 9-7, 11-5, 1-7. Slightly better than Parcells' 10-6, 6-10, 9-7, 9-7. Plus, Wade Phillips went 1-2 during the playoffs. Better than Bill Parcells going 0-2.

 

[TheSport78]

If that roster went 13-3, the credit should go to the coach who actually coached them to that record. That would be Wade Phillips, not Bill Parcells. Wade Phillips went 13-3, 9-7, 11-5, 1-7. Slightly better than Parcells' 10-6, 6-10, 9-7, 9-7. Plus, Wade Phillips went 1-2 during the playoffs. Better than Bill Parcells going 0-2.

That’s exactly the contradiction in your argument. When talking about Schottenheimer, what he inherited matters because the defense was terrible. But when talking about Parcells, suddenly what a coach inherits or leaves behind doesn’t matter because “Wade was the coach who went 13-3.”

Of course Wade gets credit for coaching them to 13-3. Nobody is taking that away from him. But who built the roster he went 13-3 with? Parcells inherited three straight 5-11 teams, no franchise QB, and a roster damaged by losing two first-round picks in the Galloway trade. He left behind Romo, Witten, Ware, Newman, Ratliff, Barber, Canty, Spears and a team ready to contend.

Wade inherited Parcells’ rebuild. Schottenheimer inherited Dak Prescott and gets excused because his defense sucked. Yet Parcells inherits Quincy Carter and a 5-11 dumpster fire and apparently context is irrelevant.

You can’t use “what he inherited” as the centerpiece of your Schottenheimer defense and then pretend it doesn’t exist when discussing Parcells. That’s not an argument. That’s moving the goalposts.