Parcells’ Future Subject Of Clash

As the countdown to the Super Bowl continued Monday, the New England Patriots’ off-center history took a new twist when team owner Robert K. Kraft clashed with the agent for coach Bill Parcells.

The gist of the conflict is whether Parcells is completely free after Sunday’s game to look for a job someplace else, or whether Kraft has an option on his coach for next year, too, or can at least demand some sort of compensation from another team if Parcells leaves.

Kraft took exception to a story in Monday’s Boston Globe that said the relationship between Parcells and Kraft has deteriorated and that Parcells will work elsewhere next season. The story quoted Parcells’ agent, Robert Fraley, as saying Parcells is free to go anywhere he wants in 1997 and there is no provision in his contract calling for any type of compensation.

“It’s unfortunate Bill’s agent has chosen this time to publicly discuss his client’s contractual status in the media,” Kraft said in a statement. “Bill and I have a longstanding agreement to hold off discussing his contract until the end of the season. We plan to do so beginning next week, and we are hopeful that Bill will remain the Patriots’ coach in the future. Bill and I also have an understanding that we do not want his contractual status to be a distraction to the team as they prepare for the Super Bowl.”

But it is probably too late for that. Meanwhile, the most interested out-of-town observers are the New York Jets, who are apparently waiting for the Super Bowl to end so they can negotiate with Parcells.

It has become evident in recent weeks that the gulf between Kraft and Parcells is widening and probably cannot be repaired. It was an excited Kraft who announced to a joyful crowd at Foxboro Stadium after the Patriots’ AFC championship victory that Parcells was “the greatest coach in the history of modern times.” It is Kraft, however, who also seems to believe he can succeed without Parcells.

Kraft has repeatedly said the Patriots organization will “remain in place.” That means Bobby Grier will continue to run the draft and have sway over personnel - a job Parcells had in his original contract, which was signed with a different owner, James Orthwein.