Scratch those plans.
Huizenga brought in Bill Parcells instead, giving him the task of restoring Miami’s lost luster.
Miami signed Parcells - the Dallas Cowboys’ coach from 2003-06 - to a four-year contract Thursday as executive vice president of football operations, a fancy title meaning he’ll oversee “anything that has to do with football, directly or indirectly,” said Huizenga, the Dolphins’ owner.
Parcells is in charge.
“He’s got the ultimate responsibility,” Huizenga said.
Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl champion coach, will report directly to Huizenga, whose affinity for big-name help now has led him to a 66-year-old former coach of four NFL clubs who owns a home in South Florida and now has a job there, too.
“I’m honored to join such an illustrious franchise as the Miami Dolphins and to work for one of the best owners in the league,” Parcells said. “He shares my same commitment to winning, and I told him I would do everything I can to help turn around the team’s fortunes.”
That will be a massive undertaking - much like when Parcells went to the New York Giants, New York Jets, New England Patriots and Cowboys.
His coaching plan helped turn those teams around.
Miami hopes Parcells can do the same thing from the front office.
“He has a proven track record of success everywhere he has been in the National Football League,” Huizenga said. “And his football acumen will help put the Miami Dolphins franchise back among the elite of the NFL.”
The team announced the hiring shortly after the locker room was closed for the day and 45 minutes after Dolphins coach Cam Cameron sidestepped questions about Parcells - even refusing to say if he’s ever met him.
Parcells’ arrival has taken much attention off the Dolphins’ Sunday game at 14-0 New England.
“The guy’s a legend,” Miami running back Lorenzo Booker said. “There’s no doubt about it. He knows what he’s doing. Obviously, his resume is a mile long.”
On Wednesday, many believed Parcells would take over the Atlanta Falcons. By afternoon, that deal fell apart, and the Dolphins and Parcells closed in on a contract Huizenga started brokering before the Falcons contacted Parcells.
They met in upstate New York - Parcells has a home in Saratoga Springs - last week, around the time Huizenga reportedly was considering selling the team for $1.1 billion. But Parcells said he was assured that Huizenga would remain in control of the franchise, whether he takes on minority shareholders or not.
“That was a very, very big factor because I did not want to go work for somebody I didn’t know,” Parcells told ESPN, where he is employed as an analyst.
So now, he’s taking on a very, very big job.
Miami started 0-13 before beating the Baltimore Ravens in overtime Sunday. The roster already seemed certain for an offseason overhaul. The Dolphins likely will have the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, and the franchise is in the midst of its longest postseason drought, six years.
Parcells insisted that he will not coach in Miami - but could see himself helping the coach, whomever it is.
“It’s a young man’s game in terms of coaching, and I know it’s time for someone else to be doing those things,” Parcells said. “If I can assist that person in any manner of speaking with my experience or even in the technical aspect and he would seek out that, then I’m happy to contribute.”
Let the questions begin.
What happens to Cameron?
What happens to general manager Randy Mueller?
“Well, I’m not going to be doing either one of those jobs,” Parcells said. “So when I get down there, I’m going to just have to look at the situation and speak with those fellas and evaluate things and see where we go from there."
