parcellsbook.com

Bill can't come up with a subtitle for the book after being asked to summarize his life in a "Twitter-type message." The June 2, 2011 conversation in Saratoga Springs, NY shifts to Coach's views about social media, including his Facebook impostors. Our Bill Tweets! page delves into his presence on Twitter.

Note: To watch the rest of these short videos, click on one of the arrows above each segment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY; June 2, 2011: In this Q&A, Bill speaks about "Army Field," a makeshift park in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ after World War II. Growing up in the New York City suburb, Bill and his neighborhood pals cherished the location, where they played unsupervised sports daily.

Bill discusses his June 1992 heart surgery, and an unforgettable moment when a hospital intern assigned to him asked for an autograph shortly before the bypass. In this June 2, 2011 interview in Saratoga Springs, NY, Coach also speaks about his kinship with his surgeon, V. Paul Addonizio, who had died of leukemia roughly a year earlier. The material comprises one of Bill's favorite chapters in his book.

Coach speaks fondly about the late Leon Hess: as a child, Bill first heard about the reclusive oil baron; and then almost a half-century later, worked for him as Jets chief. This June 2, 2011 interview in Saratoga Springs, NY was interrupted by a telephone call from Bill's pal, Shug McGaughey, the renowned horse trainer.

SARATOGA SPRING, NY, June 2, 2011: Bill Parcells conveys the reasons that he is genuinely retired from the NFL. Coach concedes that he no longer possesses the necessary energy. Nonetheless, the book would reveal that Bill considered coaching San Francisco in 2011; and, of course, New Orleans one year later.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, June 1, 2011: Bill likens every NFL employee, whether the person is the commissioner or an equipment manager, to being a train passenger. The point of Bill's analogy  in this Q&A is that inevitably the ride will end; and he adds that it often stings to be told to get off.

Bill Parcells responds to the viewpoint by many of his former players of him as a "father figure." In this June 1, 2011 session at a Saratoga Springs, NY restaurant, Bill Parcells says that coaching is essentially teaching, which facilitates life lessons.

Bill describes the NFL as being "a great laboratory of human behavior." In this June 1, 2011 Q&A in Saratoga Springs, NY, the retired coach speaks about his football passion. He would make similar remarks more than two years later during his Hall of Fame speech.

SARATOGA SPRING, NY, June 1, 2011: Bill discusses his maxims, including his most popular one: "You are what your record says you are." Coach acknowledges  that many such Parcellsisms were taken from his father. For the book, Crown Publishing Group agreed with our idea to put in bold each of Bill's sayings. Our Parcellisms page offers an extensive list of them.

At a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, NY, Bill Parcells conveys what he considers to be his legacy: "those that followed." In the June 1, 2011 interview, Coach perhaps surprisingly skips over his track record of revitalizing franchises.

Gerald Eskenazi, the former New York Times scribe, who covered the Jets during Bill Parcells's stint, opines on Coach's legacy. To start the October 14, 2010 interview at Manhattan's Nick & Toni's Cafe, I give my former colleague an introduction: Gerry has authored 16 books, including Gang Green, published in 1998 about the franchise's ineptitude during an almost four-decade period. It was among the key books used in researching Parcells.

NEW YORK, NY, October 14, 2010: Gerald Eskenazi recalls BIll Parcells's memorable first practice as Jets head coach in 1997. During the interview at a Manhattan restaurant, Gerry discusses the franchise BP (Before Parcells); the way Bill transformed its culture; owner Leon Hess's colorful background and the reason why the two men made for ideal partners.

Bill Parcells speaks to Nunyo Demasio about about his aspirations for "Parcells: A Football Life." The Q&A, which touches on Coach's distaste for an extensive promotional tour, occurred on June 1, 2011 at one of his favorite spots in Saratoga Springs, NY.