Dec. 15, 1982: They didn't even wait 24 hours. Thirty years ago today, shortly after then-coach Ray Perkins announced he'd be leaving at season's end for Bear Bryant's old job with the Alabama Crimson Tide, the New York Giants promoted defensive coordinator Bill Parcells to the top spot for 1983.
Not a bad move.
Although the team went 3-12-1 in his first year, it quickly improved -- and won Super Bowl XXI after a 14-2 regular season. The Giants won another one four years later, after which the nomadic Parcells left the Meadowlands for New England, then later the New York Jets and finally the Dallas Cowboys -- with no franchise seeing quite the success as that Parcells-Giants pairing cemented three decades ago.
