Bill Parcells offers ultimate praise for Jason Witten
Steven Taranto
In his time in the National Football League, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells coached some of the very best who have ever come through the league.
Lawrence Taylor. Harry Carson. Carls Banks. Phil Simms. Mark Bavaro. Curtis Martin. Tedy Bruschi. Kevin Mawae.
Now, yet another player Parcells coached has put together a career that puts him in company with some of his very best.
After Jason Witten announced Thursday that he would bring his playing career to an end, Parcells offered his thoughts on a player who began his retirement press conference by recounting a story of how Parcells has stressed to him the value of durability and dependability after he suffered a broken jaw in his rookie year.
"Jason Witten is what pro football is supposed to be about," said Parcells in a report by Todd Archer of ESPN. "He came to the Cowboys, got himself established very early, maximized his potential as a player and sustained very, very good play for an exceptionally long period of time and made a significant contribution to the team every year.
"Now he’s transitioning to another career by virtue of his reputation and his affiliation with the Cowboys and the success he has had. That’s what pro football is supposed to be."
Witten, who only missed one game in his entire career due to the aforementioned broken jaw, now stands out among the best tight ends Parcells ever coached: A group headlined by Mark Bavaro, Parcells' tough-as-nails tight end on his Super Bowl XXI and XXV-winning New York Giants that once famously carried Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott and most of the San Francisco 49ers defense on his back as he fought for yards after a catch. Parcells also singled out Russ Francis, Ben Coates, and Don Hasselbeck at the position.
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Parcells, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, believes that Witten will soon join him there: An honor that Bavaro has yet to receive, as his career was cut short due to injuries.
"I don’t think there’s much doubt he’s going to wind up in [The Hall of Fame]," said Parcells. "His credentials are certainly worthy."
Parcells coached Witten for four seasons, as he came out of retirement to coach the Cowboys in 2003 until retiring from coaching for good at the end of the 2006 season. The Cowboys made the playoffs under Parcells twice.
![NFL Football.ts_snapshot_16.14_[2013.08.04_21.43.16].jpg](https://www.dallascowboysuniverse.com/data/attachments/3/3294-bb0511511ca9635729ba5b00879de431.jpg "NFL Football.ts_snapshot_16.14_[2013.08.04_21.43.16].jpg")
not really, fuzzy will just kill some keystrokes proclaiming a hollow internet "victory"
