Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells declined all media requests in the aftermath of the decision of former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to walk away from football. Parcells has now broken his silence.
“I was glad he retired,” Parcells told Gary Myers of the New York Daily News. “Enough is enough. You got to know, this is hazardous to your health.”
Parcells, who added that he wishes tight end Jason Witten had retired, discovered Romo in 2003 as an undrafted player for whom former Cowboys assistant and current Saints coach Sean Payton stood on the table.
But it was more than finding Romo. Parcells also developed the former Eastern Illinois quarterback.
“I really believe I handled him the right way when he was young,” Parcells said. “If I had thrown him in there, it would have been tough. He was indiscriminant. It took a while. When we got [Vinny] Testaverde down there [in 2004], it was a big help to Tony. Vinny was very meticulous, very studious, very professional in his training and his weight lifting. Tony got to see that.”
In 2006, Romo supplanted Drew Bledsoe as the starter, a job Romo held until a back injury last August opened the door for Romo to be supplanted by Dak Prescott.
