Bill Parcells would seem to be an easy choice for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He took two teams to the Super Bowl and four teams to the playoffs. But instead of adding to his Hall of Fame resume, Parcells' well-traveled career might have actually worked against him.
Hall of Fame voters in every sport tend to favor players and coaches who stuck with one team for many years over journeymen. It may not be fair, but it's one of the few explanations for why the folks in Canton didn't bite on Parcells.
Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, which has a mostly open field of voters belonging to the Baseball Writers' Association of America who often disclose their choices, the football hall has a shadowy cabal of 44 selectors. There is a press representative for each team in each NFL city, according to The Atlantic, a representative from the Pro Football Writers of America and 11 at-large delegates.
Parcells' lack of loyalty can't be the only explanation, however. Cris Carter, Tim Brown and Andre Reed, who spent the bulk of their careers with one team each, have not been inducted. Meanwhile, Curtis Martin, who left the Patriots for the Jets as a free agent in 1998, was selected this year.
Maybe Parcells' team-hopping is the explanation for why he was left off many voters' ballots, or maybe it's merely a convenient excuse for his supporters to cry foul.
