It seems I was a bit harsh on Chris Mortensen yesterday for botching the Bill Parcells report. It now appears that Parcells made a calculated move to get ESPN to up his price to the Dolphins and that’s pretty low.

Anyway, now his own ex-coworkers are calling him out for the move along with every other major media outlet. Fox Sports has a very detailed report on how he’s done this same thing multiple times and in the video below Skip Bayless and Jemele Hill take him to task for using the “Leader”.

A sampling:

1. In 1979, he took a job as the Giants’ linebackers coach. He then backed out, citing “personal reasons.” So he stayed as the head coach at Air Force.

2. Two days after winning the Super Bowl in 1987, Parcells was rumored to be a candidate for the Falcons’ coaching job.

“What is this?” he asked the media. “A witch hunt? I have no comment.”

Of course, Parcells’ agent, Robert Fraley, had already told the Falcons weeks earlier that Parcells was interested. And he was. The only reason Parcells didn’t leave the Giants was that Commissioner Pete Rozelle stepped in and pointed out that he had what lawyers refer to as a “contract.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfn-79qc6zo&rel=1

I think it’s safe to say that Parcells won’t be welcomed back to ESPN when he fails with the Dolphins. I know that Parcells is a Hall of Famer, but I’ve never really thought he was that great of a coach. That’s just me though.

Parcells’ history explains latest move (Fox Sports)