The Final Season: My Last Year as Head Coach in the NFL

The 1999-2000 football season did not turn out the way that Parcells, the former head coach of the New York Jets, had envisioned. Instead of contending for a championship, the Jets' year was ruined when their starting quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, suffered a season-ending injury in the first game. Without Testaverde, as well as a number of other key players, the Jets stumbled badly at the beginning of the season before rallying to finish the year with a respectable 8-8 record. An important part of the Jets' resurgence was Ray Lucas, selected by Parcells to play quarterback after Testaverde's initial replacement, Rick Mirer, failed to spark the team. In one of the more revealing aspects of his week-by-week account of the season, the usually decisive Parcells is seen wavering between Mirer, talented but struggling, and Lucas, a natural leader but unproven. Not until Lucas took the quarterback reins did the Jets' season take off. With the help of veteran Boston Globe columnist McDonough, Parcells touches on all the action surrounding the Jets on and off the field in his last season, including the search for a new owner (following the death of longtime owner Leon Hess), the trade of Keyshawn Johnson and the bizarre resignation of Bill Belichick, Parcells's designated heir as Jet coach who ended up as coach of the New England Patriots. Written in Parcells's straightforward style, this memoir doesn't aim to settle old scores, although Parcells does issue a few barbs, with the sharpest directed at Johnson's agent, Jerome Stanley. While Parcells's fans may be disappointed that the famously opinionated coach is not more outspoken, there are enough new nuggets to make this a must read for Jet and Parcells followers alike. (Oct.)