Catch of the Day

On Thursday, the Miami Dolphins finalized a four-year deal with Bill Parcells to become the team's Vice President of Football Operations.

The Dolphins reeling in the Big Tuna is going to be, without question, the biggest NFL move this or next year.

It's a bigger move than whichever team ends up luring Bill Cowher out of retirement.
It's a bigger move than whichever team ends up getting Randy Moss if he leaves New England as a free agent.
It's a bigger move than whichever team gets Darren McFadden in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Bill Parcells, along with Bill Belichick, is the closest thing we have to a modern day football genius. His eye for talent is unmatched and his ability to get the most out of players is second to none.

Now granted, his best work probably comes as a head coach, and being VP of Football Operations will, at least for the time being, keep him far away from the field. He won't be a coach and he won't even be a General Manager, meaning he's even farther away from where he really should be (the football field).

Despite that, he should shine in his new role. The proof is in the pudding. Everywhere he goes, he wins. He's made it a hobby to take down-and-out franchises and turn them into winners.

As a Cowboys fan, I can say that perhaps his best reclamation project was what he did with the Dallas Cowboys. He took over a franchise that had hit rock bottom with an egomaniac owner in Jerry Jones who did what he wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought.

Not only did he bring in talented players and build a winning team, he changed the entire structure of the franchise. From the front office on down, he brought an attitude and philosophy that had not been seen there under Jerry Jones' reign.

Now, at 12-2 and in first place in the NFC, the team is enjoying the fruits of his labor. That's certainly not to take anything away from current coach Wade Phillips, who is doing a fine job at maintaining the status quo and winning with a talented team, but he's winning with Parcells' team.

Tony Romo? Marion Barber? DeMarcus Ware? Jason Witten? The core players of that team are guys Bill Parcells brought in. He found a diamond in the rough in Tony Romo, very similar to the way his protege Bill Belichick found Tom Brady.

He's in a perfect situation in Miami, taking over a downtrodden team like the ones he took over in New York, New England and Dallas and is being asked to do what he does best - change the culture of the franchise and turn it into a winner.

It won't happen overnight, but its a move that will be paying dividends for the Miami Dolphins a few years from now.

Ok there, I think I'm done verbally fellating him.

I just think that, for a team that has been the laughing stock of the NFL this year, it's nice that the Dolphins have gotten the last laugh.