Yet the larger-than-life Parcells won't rule out the possibility of guiding the Saints while protege Sean Payton serves a one-year suspension that is set to begin April 1.
"I don't know because I don't know what this consists of," Parcells told USA TODAY on Wednesday, a day after meeting with Payton and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
Payton has until Monday to appeal the suspension. In that case, Commissioner Roger Goodell would likely rule by the end of next week on whether to uphold or modify the length of the banishment, which stemmed from a bounty program administered by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
"I don't know what the end result will be and whether or what in fact (the Saints) want to do," Parcells added during a 17-minute phone conversation. "None of this has been discussed or decided. We're a long way off."
Parcells, who has a home in Jupiter, Fla., about a half-hour from the site of NFL owners meetings this week, played golf Tuesday afternoon with Payton, Loomis and team executive Greg Bensel.
"We had fun," he said.
He characterized the time spent with Loomis as a "get-to-know-you" opportunity.
"He knows that I am close to Sean," Parcells said of Loomis, "but we don't know each other well."
Loomis is facing a suspension, too, of eight games, due to begin in September.
That Payton and Loomis have reached out to Parcells with the appearance that they could choose a temporary coach, doesn't bother Goodell. Saints owner Tom Benson wasn't present at Tuesday's meeting with Parcells.
"Ultimately, the owner will make the final decision," Goodell said.
Parcells, 70, last coached in 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys, before moving on to head football operations for the Miami Dolphins. Payton was an assistant under Parcells with the Cowboys, and the two have remained close.
That friendship and support, Parcells maintains, have been the driving forces behind his contact with Payton in recent weeks.
"I know people are thinking, 'There's a deal already done,' " Parcells said. "But really, he's my friend. That's the first thing this is about.
"I feel an obligation, a responsibility to help him."
Parcells says he has talked extensively with Payton about the team and the players, but, "we really haven't talked about the job."
In addition to discipline for Payton and Loomis, Williams, now the St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator, has been suspended indefinitely and Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt has been banned for six games. The team lost its second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013, and was fined $500,000.
Goodell, seeking input from the players union, has yet to levy discipline on any of the players involved in the scandal. He expects to confer with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith by the end of the week, and rule shortly afterward.
How player discipline will affect a potential offer to Parcells is unclear.
"There's things still going on that are unanswered, and a lot of ancillary things that need to be addressed," Parcells said. "That's for down the road, I swear to it."
Does Parcells have the itch to coach again?
"That's been my life," he said. "I love the game. The NFL has been good to me. If you like competition, Sunday at one o'clock, it's there for you."
Beyond the competitive juices, he understands the grind attached to coaching ? even with a ready-made contender such as the Saints.
"Being realistic is also involved," he said. "I would not want to do something that I'm not sure I'd give my all to doing."
Parcells is undeniably struck by the buzz about his possible return.
"There are people who say. 'Well, Parcells like attention,' " he said. "Well, I didn't do anything to create this."
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/Z-ZjI64TS58/1
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