Falcons fans believe Parcells was merely using their team for leverage, trying to get Huizenga to move. Parcells, in his first and only Dolphins news conference, was never really asked to explain why he chose the Dolphins over the Falcons. At the spring 2008 NFL Owners Meetings in Palm Beach, Blank said he had "nothing but good feelings for Bill," and understood the latter's "personal reasons."
"I'm very happy where we ended up," Blank said then.
That last part seemed like lip service. After all, Parcells's rejection had left Atlanta scrambling. During the first week of January in 2008, Blank and executive Rich McKay continued interviewing coaches, including a Parcells recommendation named Tony Sparano, who was preparing for the playoffs as a Cowboys offensive assistant.
"My experience there was tremendous," Sparano recalled last week. "They really had great people. The owner is a tremendous guy, Mr. Blank. I thought they had all the pieces in place for that to be a good situation."
Blank filled in one missing piece on Jan. 13, 2008 by naming Patriots scouting director Thomas Dimitroff the general manager, and Dimitroff began conducting the coaching interviews. By then, Parcells had dumped General Manager Randy Mueller and coach Cam Cameron, and it was assumed that Sparano would join Parcells and former Cowboys GM Jeff Ireland with the Dolphins after the Cowboys' season ended. Sparano did on Jan. 16.
One week later, Dimitroff hired another unheralded assistant, Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Smith, as Atlanta's head coach.
