Editing Bill Parcells (section)

===New York Giants (1981–1990)===
The following season, Parcells was approached once again by Perkins to join the Giants' staff as an assistant coach, and Parcells accepted the offer. As defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, he was allowed to change the team's [[4–3 defense]] to a [[3–4 defense|3–4 system]].<ref name="Litsky"/> When Perkins announced on December 15, 1982, that he was leaving the Giants at the end of the season to become head coach and athletic director at the [[University of Alabama]], the Giants announced that Parcells would succeed him as head coach.<ref name="Litsky"/>

When Parcells took over in [[1983 NFL season|1983]], the team had posted just one winning season in the previous ten years. In his first year, he made a controversial decision to bench [[Phil Simms]] in favor of [[Scott Brunner]] due to Brunner's success in leading the Giants to the 1981 post-season. Also, Simms had missed the entire 1982 season in addition to the latter part of 1981. Brunner struggled and Parcells went back to Simms in Week 6, but Simms broke his thumb and missed the rest of 1983. The result was a disastrous 3–12–1 season during which the Giants surreptitiously offered Parcells' job to [[Miami Hurricanes football|University of Miami]] head coach [[Howard Schnellenberger]] after a week 14 loss to the [[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis Cardinals]]; however, Schnellenberger declined, and Parcells remained as head coach.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/12/sports/young-is-angry.html | work=The New York Times | title=Young Is Angry | date=December 12, 1983 | access-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref>

After this dismal first season, Parcells made a finally healthy Simms the starter again for 1984 and replaced half the roster. The team's record improved to 9–7 and 10–6 over the next two years, and earned them their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1961–1963. In 1986, he led the Giants to the first of two [[Super Bowl]]s. In the [[1986 New York Giants season|1986 season]], the Giants compiled a franchise-best 14–2 record and the first of three division titles. Parcells, whose stifling 3–4 defense (known as the Big Blue Wrecking Crew) led by [[Lawrence Taylor]], [[Carl Banks]], [[Harry Carson]], and [[Leonard Marshall]], and an offense under the direction of Phil Simms, knocked off the [[1986 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] 49–3, and the [[1986 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]] 17–0, in the playoffs before routing the [[1986 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] 39–20 in [[Super Bowl XXI]]. Parcells is credited as the first coach to be doused with Gatorade at the end of a Super Bowl, which led to a Super Bowl tradition. While there are some claims that Chicago Bears coach [[Mike Ditka]] had been doused a year earlier,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=rovell/051014 | title=How the dunk was born | first=Darren | last=Rovell | author-link=Darren Rovell | date=October 14, 2005 | publisher=ESPN Page 2 | access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref> [[NFL Films]] president [[Steve Sabol]] has stated that he can find no evidence to support it in any footage he has reviewed and that he believes the tradition started with Parcells and [[Jim Burt (American football)|Jim Burt]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/sports/football/a-splashy-football-tradition-gatorade-style.html | work=The New York Times | title=A Splashy Tradition, Gatorade Style | date=January 20, 2012 | first=Sam | last=Borden}}</ref>

Following the Super Bowl win, Parcells was courted by the [[Atlanta Falcons]] to become the head coach and [[General Manager (American football)|general manager]] of the franchise. However, NFL Commissioner [[Pete Rozelle]] would not allow Parcells to break his contract with the Giants and he stayed in New York.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/report-bill-parcells-falcons-vp-football-operations-post-article-1.272893 | location=New York | work=Daily News | title=Report: Bill Parcells considering Falcons' VP of football operations post | date=December 19, 2007 | first=Gary | last=Myers}}</ref>

Parcells led the Giants to a second Super Bowl in 1990. The Giants began the [[1990 NFL season|1990 season]] 10–0, but lost Phil Simms to injury late in the season and [[1990 New York Giants season|finished 13–3]]. Playing with a back-up quarterback in [[Jeff Hostetler]] and a 33-year-old veteran running back in [[Ottis Anderson]], the Giants convincingly defeated the [[1990 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]] in the divisional playoff, 31–3. They followed that up with a dramatic, come-from-behind fashion over [[1990 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco]], 15–13, in the [[1990–91 NFL playoffs#NFC Championship: New York Giants 15, San Francisco 49ers 13|NFC Championship game]] on a last-second 42-yard field goal by [[Matt Bahr]], set up by a [[Roger Craig (American football)|Roger Craig]] fumble caused by nose tackle [[Erik Howard]]. [[Super Bowl XXV]] proved equally exciting as the Giants used tough defense and a ball-control and power-running [[New England Patriots strategy#Erhardt-Perkins offensive system|Erhardt – Perkins style offense]] to stop the [[1990 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]], 20–19, whose own last-second 47-yard field goal attempt by [[Scott Norwood]] missed wide right. Parcells retired from football after Super Bowl XXV due to health problems.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/16/sports/football-decision-a-giant-among-giants-parcells-says-goodbye.html | title=FOOTBALL: Decision; A Giant Among Giants, Parcells Says Goodbye | work=The New York Times | date=May 16, 1991 | last1=Eskenazi | first1=Gerald }}</ref>

During his coaching tenure, the Giants secured three division titles (1986, 1989, 1990), had only two losing seasons (the Giants went 6–9 during the [[1987 NFL season|strike year]] of 1987), and tallied an 8–3 playoff record. Parcells, along with former Giants head coach [[Tom Coughlin]], both made the [[NFL playoffs]] five times as Giants head coach, and the two [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl titles]] they each won with the Giants occurred in their fourth and eighth seasons with the franchise, respectively.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/myers-coughlin-join-parcells-hof-day-article-1.1416849 | title=As Bill Parcells enters Football Hall, Tom Coughlin's resume displays Fame appeal | first=Gary | last=Myers | location=New York | work=Daily News | date=August 3, 2013}}</ref>