Rather Long!
I have absolutely no problem giving Bill Parcells a huge amount of credit. He did a really great job bringing in so many good young players--most of whom are starting for us or are quality backups. Parcells did it through the draft, FA & undrafted rookies. I'm not going to name them all cause we Cowboy fans know them. I know there still some anti-BP who will rag on Parcells cause a few drafted/FA players didn't pan out but that's not important in the scheme of those who did.
Besides Parcells did one major thing for us that offsets everything else he failed to accomplish and that we all know is the signing/development of our young franchise QB Tony Romo. Can anyone imagine what our season would be like this year and years into the future if Romo wasn't our QB?
If any Cowboy fan can't give Parcells a lot of credit for how much he helped the Cowboys go from one of the jokes of the NFL (3 straight years of 5-11) to at least some respectability (9-7 for last 2 years), then I assume you don't think much of Tony Romo and all the others. I'm sure I'll be flamed for this statement but that's how I feel. Parcells handprints are everywhere on this team and will remain so because he installed in these players a strong work ethic and hunger to win.
On the other hand, it is also obvious that Parcells style of coaching and his inability/unwillingness to change his conservative playcalling on both sides of the ball hindered the development of this team & fortunately Parcells seem to recognize that when he opted to retire. Parcells did an excellent job in buying the groceries but failed to mix the ingredients properly & produce a gourmet meal.
It was left to Jerry Jones to make some major decisions with Parcells retirement and he gets major kudos from me for his masterful handling of the situation. He decides to bring in the untested Jason Garrett as the OC cause he needed to ensure Romo's development & then he named Wade Phillips as our new head coach cause he needed a defensive minded 3-4 coach who could get our defense moving in the right direction but a coach who also brought a lighter hand and ability to motivate players and utilize them to their best ability. Jones also gets major credit for signing Terrell Owens in 06 (can you imagine this offense w/o TO), adding Leonard Davis, Ken Hamlin & Brad Johnson in 07 and drafting 8 pretty good players--several of whom are already making contributions to this team.
On a personal note, watching the Cowboys play this year brings tears to my eyes. I know men don't cry but it's been so long since the 90s and the great players we got a chance to enjoy & who produced so many great victories for us. I had almost lost faith that it would ever happen. But besides a tear or two, I also find myself smiling a lot. Our offense is fun to watch and our defense is getting there too.
For the record, I label the Stauback years are our first generation and the Aikman years as our second generation. Now we are beginning our third generation which I now can call the Romo years. And understand full well that other teams and fans of other teams, along with the news media, are fully aware of our past history of division wins and SB wins, and fear/hate to see the emergence of these new Cowboys & of Romo. Don't doubt for a moment there hatred of these new Cowboys and particularly of Romo. All you have to do is read their fan websites to see the hatred spewing forth particularly towards Romo. After all, he's the big piece in the puzzle for the Cowboys and a piece most teams don't have.
