Editing Bill Parcells (section)

==Early life==
Parcells was born in [[Englewood, New Jersey]] on August 22, 1941. He grew up in the nearby town of [[Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey|Hasbrouck Heights]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/needell/2008/12/for_parcells_there_is_no_great.html | title=For Parcells, there is no greater game | first=Paul | last=Needell | date=December 28, 2009 | work=The Star-Ledger | location=[[Newark, New Jersey]] | access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/28/0828parcells.html?cxntlid=inform_artr | title=Bill and Don shared a bed in the family's small house in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. | work=The Palm Beach Post | date=August 28, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/19/sports/super-bowl-xxi-the-giants-vs-the-broncos-the-two-sides-of-bill-parcells.html?pagewanted=3 | title=Super Bowl XXI: The Giants vs. the Broncos; the Two Sides of Bill Parcells | first=Frank | last=Litsky | author-link=Frank Litsky | date=January 19, 1987 | work=The New York Times | quote=Bill is his nickname. His real name is Duane Charles Parcells, but once he became a teenager only his mother called him Duane. He was raised in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., and everyone knew him as Duane except his fourth-grade teacher. She used to say, 'Duane Parcells, is she here?' | access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref> His mother, Ida Parcells (born Naclerio), was a housewife while his father, Charles (Chubby) Parcells, played quarterback at [[Georgetown University]] and worked for the [[FBI]] before becoming a lawyer for [[United States Rubber Company|Uniroyal Tires]].

Prior to his sophomore year in high school, the Parcells family moved a few miles north to the town of [[Oradell, New Jersey|Oradell]], where he attended [[River Dell Regional High School]]. While he was at River Dell, he was routinely mistaken for another boy named Bill. As he had always disliked his given name of Duane, he decided to adopt Bill as his nickname.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/28/0828parcells.html?cxntlid=inform_artr|title="Young Bill usually got his way, even when it came to unofficially changing his birth name, Duane Charles, which Doug said his brother "always hated.' Assigned to a new school, River Dell High, in his sophomore year, he found that students confused him with a boy named Bill. So Parcells adopted the name and made it stick."}}</ref><ref name="Litsky">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/19/sports/super-bowl-xxi-the-giants-vs-the-broncos-the-two-sides-of-bill-parcells.html | title=Super Bowl XXI: The Giants vs. the Broncos; the Two Sides of Bill Parcells | first=Frank | last=Litsky | author-link=Frank Litsky | date=January 19, 1987 | work=The New York Times | access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref> While coaching the New York Giants, Parcells and his family lived in upscale Upper Saddle River, a New Jersey town which was the home of Giants General Manager George Young as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-24-sp-548-story.html|title=Through the Wars : New York Giants Are Riding High After a History of Ups and Downs|first=BOB|last=OATES|date=October 24, 1989|via=LA Times}}</ref>

Parcells was an athlete as a youth. At {{convert|6|ft|2|in}} upon entering River Dell, he was large for his age, which enabled him to become a standout player on his high school's football, baseball, and basketball teams.<ref>Puma, Mike. [https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Parcells_Bill.html Parcells made struggling franchises into winners], [[ESPN.com]]. Accessed October 11, 2006. "When he entered River Dell High School in 1955, Parcells was one of the biggest kids in his class at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds."</ref> His football coach at River Dell was [[Tom Cahill (American football)|Tom Cahill]], who would later become the head coach at [[Army Black Knights football|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."<ref>Gutman, Bill (2000). [https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/gutman-parcells.html ''Parcells: A Biography'', p. 17]. Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.</ref> Corcoran would serve Parcells as an advisor and confidant throughout his coaching career.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/sports/92941524_Storybook_life.html?c=y&page=2|title=Stapleton: Mickey Corcoran's captivating trip down memory lane|first=Stapleton|last=Art}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/sports/football/mickey-corcoran-mentor-to-bill-parcells-dies-at-93.html | title=Mickey Corcoran, Mentor to Bill Parcells, Dies at 93 | first=Dave | last=Anderson | author-link=Dave Anderson (sportswriter) | date=December 2, 2015 | work=The New York Times}}</ref>