Bill Parcells coached the Patriots for four seasons and led them to the Super Bowl 1996, his last with the team. He will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame this year. Doug Mills/Associated Press
It took some time, but Bill Parcells is finally getting a place in the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.
Team owner Robert Kraft announced on Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in Florida that he will be including Parcells in this year’s class as a contributor, ending a rift between the two that culminated in Parcells leaving after New England’s Super Bowl loss after the 1996 season.
“In the early 1990s, the Patriots were in disarray,” Kraft said in a statement. “But the hiring of Bill Parcells in 1993, a two-time Super Bowl champion, brought instant credibility to the franchise.”
Parcells coached four seasons in New England from 1993 to 1996. The team went just 5-11 in his first season. Then, Parcells led a fast rebuild, with the Patriots going from the bottom of the AFC East to an 11-5 finish in 1996. They made a run to the Super Bowl to cap that season, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
That Super Bowl was significant in the end of Parcells’ tenure in New England, with him resigning as coach days later in a dispute with Kraft about personnel control.
Parcells ended up leaving the Patriots to coach the AFC East rival New York Jets in 1997. Then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue worked out a deal giving the Patriots four draft picks to allow Parcells to coach the Jets.
The incident caused friction between Parcells and the franchise, with Parcells being nominated for the Patriots hall five times (2011, 2012, 2014, 2020 and 2023), but never making it in.
In the intervening years, Parcells was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the only coach in NFL history to ever lead four different teams to the playoffs and three different teams to a conference championship game. He is also a member of the Patriots 1990s All-Decade Team.
Kraft told reporters in Florida that it was his wish to see Parcells honored “while both of us are alive.” Parcells and Kraft both will turn 84 this summer.
“I am sure he would have been voted in eventually, but I wanted to expedite the process so he can enjoy the ceremony,” Kraft said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.