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Bill Parcells almost didn't have a chance to win two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. After Parcells' first Giants team finished 3-12-1 in 1983, general manager George Young contemplated replacing him with Howard Schnellenberger.

He didn't, and Parcells said then he would forever stick to his beliefs when it came to coaching. The Giants made the playoffs the next three seasons, built largely on a defense led by future Hall of Fame linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson.

In Super Bowl XXI, quarterback Phil Simms completed a Super Bowl-record 88 percent of his passes as the Giants dominated Denver, 39-20.

The Giants missed the playoffs the following two seasons and were upset by the Los Angeles Rams in 1989. That, however, set the stage for the 13-3 run through the 1990 regular season.

With three games to go, Simms suffered a foot injury, forcing unproven Jeff Hostetler into the lineup. Relying on a stout defense and a pounding running game, the Giants shocked San Francisco, 15-13. Parcells calls it his favorite game.

A week later, the Giants kept Buffalo's high-scoring offense off the field and won their second Super Bowl when Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal try sailed wide right.

Parcells would not coach the Giants again as heart trouble forced him from the game.

The lure of coaching was too much for Parcells after two years working for NBC, and he returned to work with a moribund New England franchise.

With the first pick of his tenure, the Patriots selected Drew Bledsoe over Rick Mirer, and Bledsoe set an NFL record for pass attempts (691) in his second season. The turnaround actually began at the end of Bledsoe's rookie season, when the Patriots won their final four games.

They made the playoffs in 1994, losing to Cleveland in the wild-card round, and missed the playoffs a year later.

Everything came together in 1996 as Parcells, who was reunited with his former defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, made it back to the Super Bowl. In addition to their passing prowess with Bledsoe, rookie receiver Terry Glenn and tight end Ben Coates, the Patriots featured a star-in-the-making in running back Curtis Martin and an opportunistic defense.

The Patriots finished 11-5 and beat Pittsburgh and Jacksonville to qualify for the franchise's second Super Bowl. Trailing by only six in the third quarter, the Patriots gave up a 99-yard kickoff return in a 35-21 loss to Green Bay.

Parcells would not coach another game for New England.

A contractual feud with owner Robert Kraft led to Parcells' departure and his well-known comment: "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries."

Parcells returned to New York under curious circumstances, with the Jets forced to give New England three draft picks over two years.

The Jets were 1-15 the year before Parcells arrived, but he had them within a game of the playoffs in his first season. The eight-game turnaround was the second best all-time, trailing only those of the 1929 New York Giants and 1963 Oakland Raiders.

For the first time, Parcells had complete control of his team's football operations, and he succeeded in turning the Jets into a playoff team. First, he signed restricted free-agent running back Curtis Martin away from New England, giving up first- and third-round picks for the future NFL rushing champion. Then he signed center Kevin Mawae in free agency and added quarterback Vinny Testaverde.

In 1998, the Jets made it to the AFC title game and had a 10-0 lead in the third quarter before John Elway led Denver to the victory. The Jets' chances of getting back to a title game took a hit in the 1999 season opener vs. New England when Testaverde suffered an Achilles' injury.

Still, the Jets rallied to finish 8-8, winning six of their last eight games, in what Parcells calls his best coaching job.

Tired of coaching, Parcells moved to the front office full time in 2000 and presided over a draft that included four first-round picks – Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, Chad Pennington and Anthony Becht. That draft helped fuel more Jets playoff runs this decade.

Note: In 2000, Parcells was the Jets' chief football operating officer.

When Parcells joined the Cowboys on Jan. 2, 2003, expectations of all kinds soared. The Cowboys were expected to become winners, and the relationship between Parcells and owner and general manager Jerry Jones was supposed to explode.

Neither happened.

The Cowboys made the playoffs in two of Parcells' four seasons but failed to win a postseason game. In three of the four seasons, the Cowboys faded after midseason success.

Parcells and Jones were able to keep a solid working relationship throughout the tenure, although they did differ on several issues, such as the signing of Terrell Owens.

By hiring Parcells, Jones all but admitted that his penchant for promoting assistants to head coach (Chan Gailey, Dave Campo) was not the way to go. He acceded more power to Parcells than any other Cowboys coach in his tenure since Jimmy Johnson.

The scouting department was overhauled on Parcells' watch, with Jeff Ireland replacing Larry Lacewell as the top personnel man.

While the on-field success did not materialize, the Cowboys saw an upgrade in talent. The drafts improved, and free agency paid some dividends (Anthony Henry, Jason Ferguson, Dan Campbell), as did trades (Terry Glenn).

As with the Jets, Parcells seems to have the Cowboys set up for future success. The Cowboys believe they have their quarterback of the future in Tony Romo and a promising defense, highlighted by six first-round picks.