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Perhaps Bill Parcells will look back and remember a late-May
conversation with Mo Lewis as the moment when shovel met dirt
and the construction of a new Jets franchise began. Lewis,
the seventh-year linebacker, was in the locker room at
the team's Long Island practice facility after a particularly
draining day of minicamp, and he was feeling lower than
pond scum when he told Parcells, "I'm sick of people running
up points on us. I'd like to have a defense where the other
team comes out of a huddle and knows they're not getting anything."
"We will someday," replied Parcells.
"I believe that."
A big boast, especially when you consider that the Jets haven't
had a winning season in eight years. But Parcells' track record
suggests he can live up to his words. He has twice taken over
organizations and transformed them from wooden shanties into
Frank Lloyd Wrights in just a few years. In 1983 he became coach
of the Giants, a team with only one winning season in its
previous 10; in four years they were Super Bowl champions. In
1993 Parcells assumed control of the Patriots, a club that had
gone 9-39 over the previous three seasons. Four years later they
were in Super Bowl XXXI.
The Jets, imbued with a culture of losing, may be Parcells'
greatest challenge. His first moves as coach were designed to
create a new atmosphere. He spent nearly $3 million of owner
Leon Hess's money to renovate the weight room, build two new
practice fields and install a Teflon polymer bubble over one of
them. It is, if nothing else, a start.
"I think Parcells really knows what he's doing," says third-year
defensive end Hugh Douglas. "He brings an aura with him. You
walk into a room he's in and there's this feeling. It's just
different."
Quarterback Neil O'Donnell, in the second year of his five-year,
$25 million contract (which dovetails with Parcells' four-year
plan for the Super Bowl), is the key to the Jets' performance.
He missed the last nine games of '96 with shoulder and calf
injuries, and even when he did play, he was ineffective.
Entering that season, O'Donnell had the lowest career
interception percentage (2.08) in league history, but last year
he was picked off seven times in just 188 attempts (3.72).
When you consider Parcells' often tempestuous relationships with
his quarterbacks (just ask the Patriots' Drew Bledsoe about the
length of Parcells' fuse), and his panting over the prospect of
drafting Peyton Manning (who instead opted to remain at
Tennessee), signs point to possible trouble ahead. So far
everything has been cordial between coach and quarterback.
"I guarantee in the heat of battle we'll have our words,"
says O'Donnell, "but that will be just because of what's
happening at the moment."
The tumult that has surrounded the team obscures the fact that
the Jets have a nice core of talent on offense. Wide receiver
Keyshawn Johnson may lack a certain degree of discretion (in a
tell-all book after his rookie season he ripped O'Donnell and
fan favorite Wayne Chrebet, who caught 21 more passes than
Johnson while making one seventh his salary), but he has the
tools to be a Jerry Rice-style game-breaker. Adrian Murrell, who
last year became only the third running back in league history
to rush for more than 1,000 yards (1,249) for a team that won
only one game, may very well end up in the Pro Bowl this season,
thanks to the addition of blocking machine Lorenzo Neal at
fullback. The offensive line, anchored by left tackle Jumbo
Elliott and right guard Matt O'Dwyer, has no discernible weak
links.
The defense is led by All-Pro-to-be Douglas, who had 18 sacks in
his first 25 NFL games—sixth best for any NFL player starting
his career. The rest of the line in defensive coordinator Bill
Belichick's 4-3 unit is nondescript, but the linebacking corps
is peppered with players with bright futures. Lewis, rookie
James Farrior and fifth-year man Marvin Jones will be crucial
ingredients in Parcells' rebuilding recipe. Smallish corners
Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens excel in man-to-man coverage, but
how they will fare in Belichick's zone-based defense remains a
question.
"I often say to the players that this game can mean an awful lot
of things to you," says Parcells. "It can give you a name and
money. It can provide a solid life for you. But it won't give
you a championship. You have to earn it. That's what I'm hopeful
for."
For the first time in recent memory, hope is something the Jets
can lay claim to.
—by Lars Anderson
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