You have to be f'n kidding me.....this garbage is a must read!!!

[Tom [Giants fan]]

Bucs say talks with Parcells amount to tampering

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ESPN.com news services

"The Buccaneers have notified Bill Parcells' agent Jimmy Sexton that talks with the Cowboys are in violation of NFL's tampering rules, claiming Parcells signed a four-year contract with Tampa Bay last year before deciding not to take the job.

ESPN confirmed the story, first reported by CBS SportsLine.com, on Sunday.

The Bucs contend teams must first seek permission from them to talk with Parcells and would be entitled to compensation if Parcells agrees to coach elsewhere next season.

The league will review the matter this week, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports. The contract was signed by Parcells but never submitted to the NFL for approval, Mortensen reports.

The Buccaneers have not immediately returned calls made to them by ESPN.

The Cowboys are planning a Monday afternoon news conference to announce the firing of coach Dave Campo, the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday, which would clear the way for Dallas to hire Parcells.

Mortensen reported Friday that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also has spoken to former Minnesota Vikings head coach Dennis Green at least once last week about the team's imminent opening."

This is a bunch of garbage in my opinion. The contract was never approved and they never paid him anything. This is a cheesy attempt on the Bucs' FO to steal compensation that they don't deserve in my opinion!!

[laurent]

Honestly? This serves that fat tuna just right.

[Tommy-the-Greek]

This would be a good thing for the Skins. If Dallas has to give the Buccs a few draft picks for Parcells. I don't know how the contract could be binding if it was never approved by the league and Parcells never recieved any compensation?

[PCS]

NFL offices are going to get real tired of this one real quick. Have to know Jerry is going to have lawyers on the phone right now trying to figure this out. Of course, he may just be willing to pay one or 2 draft picks for Parcells. Others have been.

[Dale]

If they never submitted the contract for approval by the league, then this "secret" contract would have little merit one would think.

[Runs with Scissors]

Jerry's got more problems....

NEW YORK (AP) - The group promoting the hiring of black coaches by NFL teams says Dallas owner Jerry Jones violated the spirit of a new league policy by speaking to former Vikings coach Dennis Green on the phone and not in person.

Jones, expected to fire coach Dave Campo after the Cowboys' final game, met with Bill Parcells twice in the last two weeks.

Jones spoke with Green, believed to be a leading candidate for several of the vacancies that may come up.

A group headed by Johnnie Cochran Jr. and Cyrus Mehri said that wasn't enough.

"Simply talking to a minority candidate in a phone interview is not comparable to a several-hour, face-to-face meeting between candidate and owner," Mehri said Sunday.

All 32 NFL teams agreed this month to interview minority candidates when they have openings for a coach or key spots in the front office.

[Dale]

Cochran's claims are a load of BS.

Some points:

1) First off, we have not fired our head coach.

2) Green and Jones talked over the phone. Who's to say a face-to-face interview won't occur in the future?

3) We have not hired a new head coach yet. It's still very possible quite a few more interviews will occur and that a minority coach could even be hired. Parcells is far from locked up.

And, Jones is violating the "spirit" of the rule? Please.

[Larry]

Not a lawyer, but to me, if Parcells signed a contract (and it was signed by the Bucs), then he's under contract. (It wouldn't suprise me if there was some legal principal allowing either party to cancel a contract as long as neither has executed it, yet. OTOH, the Bucs might claim that, by making an announcement of the signing, they had taken action based on his written promise).

I don't have a problem at all with the NFL embarasing people like Deion and the Tuna for reneging on written contracts: There's too much of that going on, nowdays. (And not just in sports).

[PCS]

It would appear as though if Jerry wants to hire Tuna he's going to have his hands full doing so. End result will be Parcells in Dallas if the 2 a) really want to do this and b)can reach an agreement.

[Brave]

I think anyone who violates the spirit of such a stupid, useless rule is doing OK by me.

I'm more than fine with an increase in hiring of minorities in the coaching world ... but not one that is mandated!

[NorEastNCFan]

This is great. The two teams I dislike the most in the league potentially going to blows:hammer: Anyway I look at it, I can see one of the two suffering over the situation.

[Glenn X]

Dale's right; Cochran & Mehri are full of sh*t. (Then again, what should we expect out of a couple of high-priced ambulance chasers such as them?)

Who can say how this sitch between Parcells and the Cowboys will ultimately work out? Moreover, even if Parcells ends up being more thoroughly wined and dined than Denny Green by Jerry Jones, can anyone in their right mind seriously blame Jones for doing that? Last time I checked, it was Parcells, 2-for-3 in The Big Game, and Green, 0-for-0.

Based purely on merit (as opposed to, say, skin tone, which would obviously be Cochran & Mehri's preferred method), Parcells is the superior head coaching candidate, plain and simple.

[ummagumma]

Originally posted by Dale

Cochran's claims are a load of BS.

2) Green and Jones talked over the phone. Who's to say a face-to-face interview won't occur in the future?

Yeah, typically when you set up an interview for a job you set the appointment by phone...

[OaktonSkins/BushFan]

Hah. Parcells may be sh** out of luck. Personally, I can't stand that arrogant prick. I also can't stand the media always placing Parcells ahead of Joe Gibbs, who is more accomplished in the NFL.

[JimboDaMan]

I would expect the league office to laugh this one off in a hurry.

First the tampering. You sign a contract with a guy, keep it a secret, then when somebody else tries to hire him you cry tampering? I don't think so.

Then the compensation. If the guy hasn't been paid, and you already hired another coach, you're hard pressed to call him "under contract". Though I wouldn't mind seeing that fat mercenary stewed in oil with a few onions and potatos.

[bubba9497]

Tampa is just trying to stick it too Parcells for bailing on them last year. All this will do is delay his hiring with another team. Tampa Bay has no legal grounds since the contract was never authorized by the NFL, nor have they paid Parcells one red dime.

I am not a fan of Parcells in any way, but I can't see the NFL allowing Tampa's claim to stand.

[redman]

Working mostly on assumption, even if they signed a contract, they never submitted it to the league for approval, they never paid a dime to Parcells, Parcells never performed a single act as an TB Bucs employee, and both parties essentially agreed to walk away from the contract. This is a pretty weak claim IMHO. It's also interesting that it took McKay a week to make this claim after Parcells was all over the news about this interview last weekend.

I have no problems with another team messing up Dallas' efforts to hire a new coach, especially when that new coach might be Parcells. However, the reasoning behind it is suspect.

[Canyonero!]

Here's the dream scenario for me, even though it's a bit unfair I'm thinking:

1. 'Boys are fined and/or stripped of a pick for tampering.

2. Get the option of signing the Tuna by compensating the Bucs a pick.

3. Tuna decides he doesn't want to coach a team that's just lost 2 high picks. He goes to coach Detroit, leaving Dallas screwed, which was the plan all along anyway.

[NavyDave]

There is another reason I hate Tampon bay.

Lack of class from the front office is high on the list as well as sniveling and trifling antics like this.

Maybe the Tuna realise what kind of jerks the owners were and did the smart thing by saying no thanks at the last minute.

I'd like to see da Tuna in dallas since we should be reloaded and ready for them and the division will be the strongest in the conference.

[70Chip]

Can anyone point me to the NFL rule or bylaw that says that coaching or staff contracts have to be submitted to or approved by the league office, or are y'all just making this up?

[Kilmer17]

The league doesnt have to approve a contract for it to be legally binding.

The issue is whetther ANY contract is worthy of comp or only those approved by the league.

[70Chip]

Right -- which makes one of the key questions whether league rules require non-player contracts to be approved or recorded by the league office. This is the first I've heard of it, although some stories apparently are implying that they do need to be approved. Obviously draft picks have been exchanged for coaching changes, etc, but it's still hazy to me what the actual requirements are.

Here's an excerpt from the Tampa Tribune this morning that fills in a few of the blanks, of which there are still many --

Joel Glazer, son of Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer and a club executive vice president, strongly suggested Sunday night that the Bucs may try to regain one of the two first-round or two second-round draft picks they gave up for Gruden in this deal.

``There's a precedent now for what a good coach is worth,'' Glazer said.

Parcells could not be reached for comment Sunday and his agent, James Sexton, did not return messages seeking comment on the contract.

It is believed that Sexton considers the contract nonbinding and believes it contains a clause allowing either party to walk away from it at any time. Joel Glazer denied those claims Sunday, saying they are ``wrong.''

Also at issue is the timing of the signed agreement. Glazer and McKay emphasized that the Bucs came to terms with Parcells after the Bucs were eliminated from the playoffs Jan. 12.

However, Bucs officials would not acknowledge Sunday whether the deal was signed after the Glazers' Jan. 15 press conference, in which they denied having had prior contact with Parcells.

McKay said he believes the matter will be cleared up in the next couple of days. Resolving the issue may require intervention from the league, and it is unclear whether the NFL has a copy of the contract on file.

At Parcells' request, team officials said, the Bucs delayed announcement of the deal and did not file a copy of it with the league because Parcells wanted enough time to travel to Tampa for the announcement.

But Parcells never made it to Florida. Stunning the Bucs for the second time in 10 years (Parcells was former owner Hugh Culverhouse's choice to replace Richard Williamson after the 1991 season), he backed out of the deal Jan. 18, saying he could not make the commitment necessary to build a winning team.

``If the Bucs ask us to look into this issue, we would proceed on this matter. But as of now, they haven't,'' said Greg Aiello, NFL vice president for communications.