Parcells: No contact from Saints about coaching
(CBS/AP) Could the Big Easy reel in the Big Tuna to coach the Saints this season?
ESPN reported Monday that suspended coach Sean Payton had approached former coach Bill Parcells about coaching the team this season. However, Parcells said that the Saints have not contacted him about possibly coaching the team in the wake of Payton's one-year suspension, which still could be appealed.
Parcells did say, however, that Payton has spoken to him about how to handle the season.
The Saints have yet to announce their future coaching plans, and Payton's agent, Donald Yee, said "no decisions have been made about an appeal."
"Sean fully supports the league's player safety goals," Yee said. "Given this, he probably won't address the entire league" when he arrives at the NFL owners meetings.
When Parcells was asked if anyone in the Saints organization had talked to him about coaching the team in 2012, he said "No," prior to the New York Mets' spring training game Monday against St. Louis.
Parcells, who guided the Giants to two Super Bowl titles, was asked last April if he would ever return to coaching in the NFL. His answer: "I'm done. I know I've said that before, so you better put it down in pencil."
The last time the 70-year-old Parcells coached was 2006 when he led the Cowboys to a 9-7 record. He then spent three years as the Dolphins' VP of football operations.
Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said Payton would speak later this week. NFC coaches are scheduled to meet the media Wednesday morning.
General manager Mickey Loomis, who will serve an eight-game suspension for the system that paid Saints players for big hits on targeted players. Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been suspended indefinitely.
Last Friday, Payton apologized for the bounty system, taking "full responsibility" for the program that operated for three years under his watch. His former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, has been suspended indefinitely for overseeing the bounty pool.
Payton takes responsibility for Saints scandal
If Parcells were to actually return to the sidelines in New Orleans, it would be an interesting twist to a drama-filled offseason. After all, last month it was Parcells who convinced former Saint Ricky Williams to retire.