Parcells Apparently Allows Jets’ Plans To Fall Out Of The Bag

When Bill Parcells said he wanted to buy the groceries, it’s apparent the kind of meal he wants to cook in New York is the fast-food type.

By making the six-year, $36 million offer to Curtis Martin that the New England Patriots declined to match, Parcells was, in effect, saying he’s not coaching for the long haul.

That’s because in giving up first- and third-round picks for Martin, he was telegraphing the fact he’s looking to make a Super Bowl run in the next couple of years and then retire.

Parcells, at a news conference, denied he was mortgaging the future. But the Patriots, counting the compensation they got for Parcells, now have the Jets’ first three picks this year and their first-round pick next year.

The Jets, by contrast, have just one pick in the first three rounds this year and don’t have a first-round pick next year.

Martin is also a gamble because he was injured at the end of last year and underwent abdominal surgery at the end of the season.

Parcells blamed the Patriots for that, saying he used to spell Martin early to keep him fresh late in the season.

“There was an alteration in that philosophy, and at the end of the season, they didn’t have the players. OK? They didn’t have the player,” he said.

Parcells still likes to needle the Patriots, and the Martin caper will keep the Patriots-Jets rivalry at a fever pitch.