Posts tagged Bill Parcells at FanHouse

Ricky Williams said the $8.1 million he owes the Dolphins from his sudden retirement in 2004 wasn't brought up in his recent negotiation for a one-year extension. And that, he figures, was for a reason.

"I assume I'm not going to have to pay it,'' he said. That was his read of it not being brought up? "Yes,'' he said.

Asked why he thought it would be forgiven, he mentioned the new regime led by Bill Parcells. "I assume they want to keep me happy,'' he said last Friday, before a source said the Dolphins hadn't forgiven Williams of the money.

Julius Jones

After years of backing up former league MVP Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris will be the Seattle Seahawks' starting running back -- on Sunday. ...On the eve of the Seahawks' first regular season game, coach Mike Holmgren is sticking to his plan of having co-starters replace the departed Alexander.

Off the field, Parcells has mentored ... Williams. ''Every day, we have a brief conversation,'' Williams said. "He's very good at trying to make sure I don't get discouraged and keeping me motivated. He gives me [inspirational] stories when he thinks I need a little push. I always knew I would love to play for a guy like that.''

Williams said ''there's not a doubt in my mind'' Parcells cares about him as a person: "He's usually laughing at me for some reason.''

"We had a similar situation in Dallas [in 2005]," said [first-year head coach Tony] Sparano, then the Cowboys offensive line coach under Bill Parcells, now Dolphins vice president of football operations. "We had Drew [Bledsoe], Tony [Romo] and Drew Henson ... this three-headed monster going on.

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

Under Bill Parcells, the Miami Dolphins are trying to get younger and build from the ground up. There are battles going on everywhere. However, the most impactful (with the most attention) will be the starting quarterback ... where there are three Dolphins fighting for the job.

The candidates are John Beck, Josh McCown and Chad Henne.

Of the three, Henne is the longest shot. He has the least experience and is looked at more as a long(er) term project. He would have to impress mightily to win the job when the season starts, though he may have his shot later in the season.

So, it really breaks down to Beck and McCown. Beck was looked at as the future when he was drafted in the 2nd round last year. Well, that was under a different regime and before Beck looked shaky last season. Still, if Miami is really trying to develop for the future, Beck seems to be a no-brainer*. He seems to have the coaching staff leaning his way and spending a lot of time working with him.

Josh McCown is the most experienced, albeit, not as exciting. The team knows what it will get out of McCown but also knows that he isn't the long term answer at the position. McCown could win the job just because they want a steady presence in the huddle and running the offense which will help further develop everyone else.

"We'd just lost to Seattle and I'm flying back,'' Parcells told Andrea Kremer of HBO from his summer home in Saratoga Springs. "I'm sitting up with the pilots, you know, I have a little fear of flying so I ride up in the cockpit. And I said, 'This is probably going to be my last trip.' And you just know. You don't want to go through the whole process again, to get to right where we were. You know?

"And all you got to do is kick a field goal, the most elementary of plays, and then you just don't do it. And so I don't want to go through that process again. Too much blood."