Bill Parcells won't be joining the Saints, meaning New Orleans will hire from within and the 2012 season will come and go without the Big Tuna roaming the sideline, jawing at officials, cementing his place as one of the planet's most intense 70-year-olds.
We believe Parcells made the right move, but it brings to mind a laundry list of head coaches who left their imprint on the NFL before vanishing into the mist. Coaches we'd love to see return.
Here's a few:
(Note: We're bypassing the painfully obvious duo of Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden, two men consistently named whenever a high-profile opening emerges. Two men content to remain on television, at least for now.)
•Marty Schottenheimer: John Elway has re-emerged on the scene in Denver, meaning old Schottenheimer still has a chance for payback against the man who terrorized him in Cleveland and Kansas City. Tearing Schottenheimer away from his current team, the impenetrable Virginia Destroyers of the UFL, might take some work. Revenge on Elway, however, should come at any price.
•Sam Wyche: A student of Bill Walsh, Wyche made a name for himself using the no-huddle offense throughout games, baffling defenses. An emotional firestorm of a man, Wyche genuinely cared for his players. One man he didn't care for? Jerry Glanville, the former Houston Oilers coach. Wyche and Glanville tangled bitterly in the late-'80s in the rough-and-tumble AFC Central. One of football's better feuds, and all the more reason for ...
•Jerry Glanville: It's been far too long since an NFL coach left tickets for Elvis at will-call. Long gone is the beautiful/terrifying House of Pain, but it's not too late to bring the mouthy, cantankerous Glanville back into the fold.
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•Eric Mangini: It's easy to bash Mangini. The man clearly has burned a few bridges. But it's fair to argue that a portion of Rex Ryan's success can be attributed to players brought in during Mangini's watch over the Jets from 2006 to 2008. The names include D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Brad Smith, Eric Smith and Leon Washington in 2006; Darrelle Revis and David Harris in 2007; and Dustin Keller in 2008. In Cleveland, Mangini was torched for a 1-11 start in 2009. He played the Mr. Roboto role with the Browns, cleaning out a poisoned locker room and turning an undisciplined team into a group that, at very least, played with pride by 2010. He didn't win enough games there, and he wasn't a fit for Mike Holmgren, but he didn't have a chance to finish the job.
Below is where you tell us which coach you want back -- or why we're insane for listing Wayne Fontes on any earthbound top-five list. Proceed.