Should Bill Parcells be in the Patriots Hall of Fame? What the experts are saying

"Parcells is the one who turned the Patriots into a legitimate franchise."

Former head coach Bill Parcells, who guided the Patriots to the Super Bowl, was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Jason Miller/Getty Images

By Jenna Ciccotelli

May 1, 2020

2 minutes to read

As the coach of the Patriots from 1993-96, Bill Parcells led the team to its first playoff appearance in eight seasons, made a Super Bowl, tied a then-franchise record for wins, won a division title, and was named NFL Coach of the Year.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013, and is a finalist for induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame this year – for the fourth time. What’s the hold up?

Each year, the Patriots Hall of Fame inductee is determined by fan voting, and according to NFL experts, that’s why Parcells won’t get the call, since he abandoned the team after falling in the Super Bowl to the Packers in 1996. It would take intervention from owner Robert Kraft, and according to The Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy, such a move is “not bloody likely.”

Does Parcells deserve to be enshrined into Foxborough’s Hall of Fame? Will he make the cut? According to experts, those are two different questions, with two different answers. Here’s what they had to say.

Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe:

“Parcells is good enough for football’s ultimate shrine, but not good enough for a gallery in the shadows of Bar Louie and Skipjack’s at Patriot Place.

“Rubbish. A Patriot Hall of Fame without Parcells is a farce. And despite what the Krafts would have you believe, Parcells is the one who turned the Patriots into a legitimate franchise.”

Mike Mutansky, WEEI:

“I feel very strongly that Parcells should have been in by now. The fans are going to vote players in before coaches every time.

“What he did [in New England], that’s his second-best coaching job. To take what he took here, to where it ended when he left and what he set up here, that was number two.

Gary Tanguay, NBC Sports Boston

“As soon as Parcells swam upstream to New England, everything changed. Because whether you want to admit or not, he was a winner. His persona changed the persona of the team. People bought season tickets, we had hope, the Patsies had a freakin’ chance.

“He brought them from the basement to the Super Bowl. And … he brought them the greatest coach ever.”

Matt Dolloff, 98.5 The Sports Hub:

“The way Parcells left has certainly hurt his case to get over the hump for enshrinement in the Patriots Hall of Fame. But there’s no denying the on-field success that the team had while he was here. He also drafted and developed numerous key players from the early years of the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady dynasty – Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown, Ted Johnson, Lawyer Milloy.”

Tom E. Curran, NBC Sports Boston:

“Kraft’s fanbase? They aren’t going to forget. And while a lot of them may forgive, if given the chance to vote for a coach who was here for four seasons 25 years ago or a player who won three Super Bowls 15 years ago, they’ll take the player.

“Bill Parcells isn’t getting into the Patriots Hall of Fame without ownerly intervention.

“And I think the owner ought to go ahead and do it.”