Once former Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga sold the team to Stephen Ross, V.P. of football operations Bill Parcells parlayed a term that would have allowed him to walk away with full pay upon the transfer of title into a contract that allowed him to leave at any point in the next three years with full pay.
And, as ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (who hosted a radio show with Parcells during his most recent stint in Bristol) speculated on Monday night, Parcells could be cashing out the last two years of the deal and moving on after 2009.
Ross thinks Parcells will be back next year, despite the recent push to make the Fins even more entertainment-oriented than the Tuna’s last employer, the Dallas Cowboys.
“Living in South Florida, I think everybody would choose to do that, especially at this time in his life,” Ross said, according to the Associated Press. “What he’s building here, he wants to probably see it succeed and be here to bear the fruits of what he’s doing. . . . He came home to a place that I think is probably going to be where he makes his last mark, his last stand, so to speak.”
We tend to agree with Mort. Parcells is always looking for his next challenge, and the whole Jimmy Buffett, Mark Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Jon Bon Jovi, and Venus and Serena Williams vibe seems likely to prompt Parcells to move on.
If/when that happens, look for former Chiefs G.M. Carl Peterson to become a leading candidate to replace Parcells, given Peterson’s past ties to Ross.
And given the shambles in which the Kansas City franchise finds itself, that might be bad news for Dolphins fans.