If Bill Parcells were running Miami's drafts then Chris Long, not Jake Long, would have been our #1 pick in 2008. Jake Long was the guy that Jeff Ireland wanted from the start, but the most Parcells did was demand that the contract with big Jake be done by a certain time period and if not then negotiations with Chris Long would have begun.
Parcells' history had suggested his preference. He twice traded out of picking an offensive tackle at the top of a draft in order to move down and take James Farrior who he thought would play OLB.
Parcells' history had ALSO suggested that he wouldn't be cool with a CB in the first round. He generally drafted CBs in rounds 3 and below. The only exception was when the Cowboys drafted Terrence Newman, and in order to do that Jerry Jones and Larry Lacewell had to invite Parcells out to dinner and let him know in as politic a way as they could that Parcells was not getting his guy Kevin Williams, rather they were going to take Terrence Newman because that was the choice of the entire personnel staff (Jeff Ireland included).
And, as hooshoops pointed out, a year ago Gil Brandt was hinting that he knew based on his relationship with Parcells exactly which linebacker Bill would take in the 2009 draft, and later we found out he was talking about Clay Matthews. Well, they passed on Matthews, and despite Parcells' history of not taking CBs high, they took Vontae Davis...and contrary to some opinions I do not believe Vontae fell way further down the board than they thought he would.
At some point people have to wake up and realize that predicting what Miami will do based on "the Parcells handbook" has not been a very good predictor of what actually happens, at least where it concerns the highest rounds in the draft.
