New England Patriots - NESN.com
Last weekend, the New England Patriots held a special ceremony to induct former head coach Bill Parcells and wide receiver Julian Edelman into their team’s Hall of Fame. While Edelman’s induction drew a lot of attention, longtime fans of the Pats were thrilled to see Parcells back in town as well.
Parcells didn’t directly contribute to the Patriots’ recent dynasty, but he helped put them on the map during his four-year stint in charge of the team from 1993 to 1996. The first move he made with the team involved selecting Drew Bledsoe with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft.
For a point in time, it seemed like Bledsoe was the guy who would lead New England to its first Super Bowl victory. He earned a pair of Pro Bowl selections under Parcells’ tutelage before leading the team to Super Bowl XXXI, where they ended up losing to the Green Bay Packers.
Of course, that ended up being Parcells’ final game with New England, and as we all know, Bledsoe eventually ceded his job to a guy named Tom Brady. As it turns out, though, Bledsoe may not have been selected by the Patriots with the No. 1 overall pick if it weren’t for Parcells.
“I had a little contention with the personnel director at the time named Charley Armey,” Parcells revealed on “Pats from the Past.” “He felt like (Rick) Mirer was safer pick, but I watched every pass that Drew Bledsoe threw on film for two years … When I was done with that reel, I was convinced that’s who I wanted.”
Rick Mirer was the other top quarterback in the 1993 draft class, but he only lasted four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before bouncing around the league and eventually retiring after the 2003 campaign. When comparing the two, it’s clear Bledsoe was the right pick.
Bledsoe’s tenure with New England didn’t necessarily go as expected, but without him and Parcells, the Patriots’ dynasty may have never happened. So much had to go right for New England’s long stretch of success to take place, and this story is further proof of that.
