Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells known as "The Big Tuna", is a former American football coach, a head coach in the National Football League for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants, whom he led to two Super Bowl titles. Parcells served as the head coach of the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys. Throughout his career, he coached teams that were in a period of decline and turned them into postseason contenders, he is the only coach in NFL history to lead four teams to the playoffs and three teams to a conference championship game. When Parcells became the head coach of the Giants in 1983, he took over a franchise that had qualified for the postseason only once in the past decade and had only one winning record in their last 10 seasons. Parcells brought new success to the team and within four years, guided them to their first Super Bowl win, his tenure with the Giants spanned eight seasons and concluded with a second championship victory in Super Bowl XXV.
After the Super Bowl win, Parcells retired as a coach in 1991. In 1993, Parcells came out of retirement to become the head coach of the Patriots, another struggling franchise at the time. Once again, Parcells changed the fortunes for the team and led them to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI during his fourth season as their coach, although the game ended in defeat for the Patriots. Amid conflicts with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, he left the franchise after their Super Bowl loss and became the head coach of the Jets for the next season. Under Parcells, the Jets went from having only one victory in the previous season to obtaining a winning record, they reached the 1998 AFC Championship Game in his second year with the team. After three seasons as the Jets' head coach, Parcells retired for a second time in 1999, but came back to football in 2003 to become the head coach of the Cowboys, he coached the Cowboys for four seasons and helped them qualify for the playoffs twice, although the team was eliminated in the first round each time.
Following the team's loss in a 2006 NFC Wild Card game, Parcells retired from coaching for good in 2007. Since his final retirement from coaching, Parcells serves as an NFL analyst for ESPN and since 2014, has been an unofficial consultant for the Cleveland Browns, he was the Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins, a position he held from 2008 to 2010. In 2013, Parcells was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his life story, "Parcells: A Football Life" was co-authored by Bill Parcells and writer Nunyo Demasio, a former Washington Post reporter. The collaboration was released by Penguin Random House in late 2014, soon became a New York Times bestseller. Parcells was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on August 22, 1941, he grew up in the nearby town of Hasbrouck Heights. His mother, Ida Parcells, was a housewife while his father, Charles Parcells, played quarterback at Georgetown University and worked for the FBI before becoming a lawyer for Uniroyal Tires. Parcells is of Irish, Scottish and Italian descent.
Prior to his sophomore year in high school, the Parcells family moved a few miles north to the town of Oradell, where he attended River Dell Regional High School. While he was at River Dell, he was mistaken for another boy named Bill; as he had always disliked his given name of Duane, he decided to adopt Bill as his nickname. He and his wife lived on Pleasant Avenue in upscale Upper Saddle River, N. J., home to the Parcells family. Parcells was an athlete as a youth, he was large for his age, which enabled him to become a standout player on his high school's football and basketball teams. His football coach at River Dell was Tom Cahill, who would become the head coach at Army, his basketball coach at River Dell was Mickey Corcoran, whom Parcells considers to be "next to my father... the most important influence in my life." Corcoran would serve Parcells as an confidant throughout his coaching career. Upon graduating from high school, Parcells arrived at Colgate University; as a freshman, he was offered a contract by the Philadelphia Phillies.
His father disapproved of a career in sports and wanted him to study law, so the younger Parcells declined the offer. He soon transferred to the University of Wichita, where he played linebacker and earned a physical education degree, he was drafted in the seventh round by the Detroit Lions, but was released by the team before playing a single NFL game. At the conclusion of his playing days, Parcells decided to pursue a career in football, he began as an assistant coach at Hastings before moving on to Wichita State, Florida State and Texas Tech. In 1978, he became the head coach at the Air Force Academy for one season. While serving as linebackers coach at Army, Parcells was a part-time assistant basketball coach for Bob Knight during the 1966–67 season, which led to their longtime friendship. In 1979, Parcells accepted an offer to become the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants under head coach Ray Perkins but, before the season started, he resigned and took a job with a land development company in Colorado.
While living in Colorado, Parcells became a season ticket holder with the Denver Broncos. Parcells called it the most miserable year of his life. Feeling dissatisfied with his life away from football, Parcells returned to the sport in 1980 as the linebackers coach of the New England Patriots under Ron Erhardt; the following season, Parcells was approached once again by Perkins to join the Giants' staff as an assistant coach, Parcells accepted the offe
The 1976 New York Giants season was the franchise's 52nd season in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the NFC East; the season was highlighted by the opening of the new Giants Stadium at the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford on October 10. In the first game at the stadium, after four road games to open the season, the defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys handed New York a 24–14 loss; the Giants suffered defeats against the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, falling to 0–7 after week 7. At this time, they fired third-year head coach Bill Arnsparger, whose Giants teams had lost 28 times in 35 games. John McVay was named the team's interim coach, although director of operations Andy Robustelli said the appointment was "not strictly" on a temporary basis. New York lost its first two games under McVay, against Cowboys; the Giants' first win at Giants Stadium came on November 14, when they defeated the Washington Redskins 12–9. In their final four games, they won twice.
Linebacker Brad Van Pelt became the first Giant to receive a Pro Bowl invitation since 1972. Following the season, McVay remained the Giants' head coach. For the 1976 season and now based in New Jersey, the Giants debuted their new helmet design, changing from a stylized “NY” to the word “GIANTS”, underlined in block letters, they wore this helmet through the 1999 season. Harris, David; the Genius: How Bill Walsh Reinvented Football and Created an NFL Dynasty. New York City: Random House. ISBN 978-1-58836-810-2. Whittingham, Richard. Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-641-7
Tjolöholm Castle is a country house in Halland, Sweden. It is located on a peninsula in the Kungsbacka Fjord on the Kattegat coast; the manor house was designed by architect Lars Israel Wahlman in a style inspired by Tudor architecture and built between 1898-1904. The Tjolöholm estate was bought in 1892 by James Fredrik Dickson, he was the son of James Jameson Dickson founder of the Swedish shipping company, James Dickson & Co. James Fredrik Dickson was married to his cousin with wife Cecilia Blanche Charlotte Dickson. After Blanche Dickson died in 1906 the castle was inherited by their daughter Blanche Bonde wife of Count Carl Bonde; the manor house and surrounding acreage were purchased in 1964 by the City of Gothenburg for use as a recreational reserve. From 1968 to 1973 renovations of the property and buildings was carried out. In 1971, parts of the castle were opened to visitors. In 1987 Tjolöholm was purchased by the foundation Västkuststiftelsen. In 1991, the property was transferred to the foundation Stiftelsen Tjolöholm which has Kungsbacka municipality as its principal.
In 1991, it became a registered historic building. The manor house is open for tours daily during the summer and weekends during the rest of the year. Throughout the year, the estate offers hotel rooms, operates a restaurant and banquet facilities. In 2010, Danish film director Lars von Trier shot the exterior scenes of the film Melancholia at the castle. Stiftelsen Tjolöholm website