SAN FRANCISCO — The phone rang in my hotel room before 7 Saturday morning, and it was Bill Parcells.
He was breathless.
The Hall of Fame coach is 80 years old, and he sounded like an excitable teenager, talking about Saint Peter’s and its remarkable run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
I hadn’t reached out to Parcells. He was so moved by the Saint Peter’s story, he called me because he saw that I’d been chronicling some of its NCAA Tournament run.
The Peacocks’ band of rag-tag, overlooked, under-recruited players brought Parcells back to his youth in New Jersey. He sounded as energized as he used to sound when he would talk about those Giants NFC East rivalry games against the Redskins or Eagles back in the day.
“When I see these kids play, that makes me feel like I’m back in Mackay Park in Englewood, New Jersey, playing 4-on-4,’’ Parcells said. “These kids remind me of my childhood. The best thing was, in those 4-on-4 games, if you lost, that was it. You ain’t getting back on the court. It was ‘come back after lunch.’
“These Saint Peter’s kids have been in these games their whole life,’’ Parcells went on. “They still are. That’s the beauty of it. They’re playing 4-on-4 down at the park, and if you lose, go home.’’
Parcells, one of New Jersey’s most famous and accomplished natives, has been positively rapt while watching the magical Saint Peter’s run that has captured the nation.
Giants coach Bills Parcells celebrates with the team after beating the Bills in Super Bowl XXV. AP“They’re gritty kids,’’ he said. “I’ll tell you I’m so fired up. I can’t wait ’til [Sunday]. Can you imagine if they can beat North Carolina? Give me a break. It’s unbelievable.’’
Parcells also has a connection to this NCAA Tournament through Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who played college ball at West Point from 1966-69 when Parcells was an assistant football coach there. Parcells was tight with Bobby Knight, Krzyzewski’s basketball coach.
Parcells was drawn to coaching by his basketball coach, Mickey Corcoran, from River Dell High in Oradell, N.J. Corcoran became his mentor — even through his NFL years.
And what Saint Peter’s has been doing — slaying these NCAA blue bloods with more talent, athleticism and pedigree — reminded Parcells of one of the tenets he learned from Corcoran.
Saint Peter’s star Doug Edert jumping on the scorer’s table after Saint Peter’s win didn’t go over well with Shahen Holloway. AP, Noah K. Murray“It’s like Mickey used to teach me: ‘There’s ways to win all these games; you just gotta figure it out,’ ’’ Parcells said. “That served me well in coaching.’’
Parcells figured out how to win Super Bowl XXV in 1991 against a heavily favored Bills team that had an offense so prolific no one had been able stop it … until his Giants did with a brilliant game plan of offensive keep-away and great defense.
Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway figured out how to knock off Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue to reach the Elite Eight game against perhaps the bluest blue blood of all, North Carolina.
With Duke’s victory over Arkansas on Saturday night in the West Region final, a Saint Peter’s win over North Carolina on Sunday would set up a Peacocks-Blue Devils showdown in the Final Four.
That’ll pique Parcells’ interest even further because of his affinity for Saint Peter’s and his admiration for Krzyzewski, who at age 75 will retire when this run is done.
“Of course, I’ve watched him over the years,’’ Parcells said of Krzyzewski. “I’m interested. I always liked basketball. My mentor was a basketball coach. The reason I wanted to be a coach was because of Mickey.’’
Parcells said he never got to know Krzyzewski very well, but he recalled writing him a letter after Krzyzewski won the second of his five national championships, in 1992. He recalled mentioning the importance of “sustained excellence’’ and also wrote: “There’s very few that ever coached that game, and you’ll forever be one of them.’’
When I mentioned Krzyzewski being 75 and still chasing a sixth national title, Parcells said: “Hey listen, I see [Bill] Belichick. He’s 70 [on April 16]. I ask, ‘How you doing?’ He says, ‘I’m doing good.’ You know, he ain’t retiring any time soon, I don’t think. Doesn’t sound like it to me.’’
Krzyzewski is either one or two games away from being done. Just like Parcells, a coaching lifer who called himself “poster boy for retirement, but I just couldn’t stay out’’ until he left in 2006, eventually Belichick will be, too.
“The proverbial time marches on,’’ Parcells said. “You can’t win that fight. You can’t beat that guy, Father Time. He wins all the time.’’
Father Time is one of very few who has won more than Krzyzewski.
