Bill Parcells regrets leaving the Patriots

"I regret leaving New England. Had we done things differently ... " Parcells told USA TODAY Sports. "I had a good young team there. I hated to leave that team, because I knew what we could do. I was absolutely too headstrong. And (owner Robert Kraft) might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently."

There it is, right from the man himself. Legendary coach and soon to be Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Parcells admits that he and Patriots owner Robert Kraft could have gone about things in a different manner during the coach's time in New England. With the type of career that Parcells had, it is somewhat surprising to see him admit any regrets. At the same time, he did leave a team that he helped build right before they went on to become a dynasty.

Kraft also took some of the blame for the break-up between coach and team, citing his inexperience at being a team owner as a prime reason:

"Look, I was a new owner," Kraft said. "I had a lot of debt. I had stardust in my eyes. I had a Hall of Fame coach. I was green and new. And I don't think Bill had ever dealt with someone like myself. He had a contract that said he'd coach year to year. And that didn't make me feel secure. ... He was coaching year to year, making personnel decisions. He used to drive down to (his home in) Jupiter, Fla., at the end of the year and he'd say he'd decide whether he was coming back to coach. That didn't inspire confidence in me."

And why would a contract like that inspire confidence? Why would you want your coach, the main driving force of your team, to kick back at the end of each year and basically tell you, 'maybe I will be back, if I feel like it' ? Look, both the team and Parcells have had plenty of success and even though Kraft and Parcells both admit that they could have handled the situation differently, it is what it is . As in all sports, 'what if?' scenarios mean absolutely nothing.

Anthony Aidonidis
@aidonidis18