Bill Parcells. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Parcells hopes Jets don't make the same QB mistake he did in 1999

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 9/13/23

If anyone knows the uphill battle New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is facing, it’s two-time Super Bowl champion Bill Parcells.

Like Saleh, Parcells also lost his starting quarterback in the season opener of his third year as head coach of the Jets. The Hall of Famer said he hopes that Saleh doesn’t make a mistake similar to the one he made in playing Rick Mirer for too long after losing starting QB Vinny Testaverde to an Achilles injury in Week 1.

“If I would have put Ray Lucas in two weeks earlier, we would have made the playoffs,” Parcells said in an interview with the New York Post. “It was just my mistake.”

One significant bright spot last night for Jets fans -- After the devastating Testaverde Achilles tear in Week 1 of '99, the great Bill Parcells mismanaged the rest of that loss to the Patriots. Last night, Robert Saleh somehow held it together & showed growth as a head coach. https://t.co/hFTsqI5YuI
— Ian O'Connor (@Ian_OConnor) September 12, 2023

Testaverde went down in that 1999 opener after just 15 pass attempts. Mirer and Tom Tupa split reps for the rest of the game, which New York lost to the New England Patriots 30-28.

Parcells went with Mirer for the next six games before handing the reins to Lucas, who went 6-3 and led the Jets to an 8-8 finish and narrowly missing the playoffs.

Saleh told reporters on Tuesday that Zach Wilson would be the starter for the rest of the season with Tim Boyle serving as the backup. Despite his comments, the Jets are expected to at least explore bringing in another QB.

Wilson has won just eight of his 22 starts with the Jets, including a 5-4 record last season. Saleh would do well to heed Parcells’ advice about pulling the trigger on a QB change should Wilson falter at any point, especially with the Jets in win-now mode.

"I think a coach's challenge is your team has to have hope," Parcells said. "You have to have hope. If the nucleus they built up there, if that was good enough to win, I think you'll see a highly competitive team."

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