In 15 years of coaching together they won two Super Bowls and went to a third, yet they did it with one reaping most of the credit as head coach and the other simply taking his place behind a legend as a trusted defensive coordinator, biding his time to one day escape that large shadow.
They are, of course, Bill Parcells -- who is now in Dallas resurrecting the fourth franchise in his illustrious head-coaching career -- and Bill Belichick, who has taken the New England Patriots to Super Bowl heights even Parcells didn't reach while guiding that club from 1993 through 1996.
The two will meet Nov. 16 for the first time since their abrupt divorce at the end of the 1999 season, when Parcells re-retired and Belichick unexpectedly broke away from the New York Jets and Parcells before eventually landing the Patriots job in February 2000.
"We worked together for a long time and we shared a mutual respect," Belichick said of the breakup. "Not all decisions are easy, but as coaches we often have to make difficult choices. There was a lot that went into it and given all the circumstances, I felt I made the right decision.
"We have a professional relationship and we had some success together. Bill always gave me the latitude to run the defense within certain general parameters, but we've all moved on with our careers."
So now the divorcees will compare their new 7-2, first-place beauties in a Sunday night matchup to see whose is the fairest. Belichick, for his part, downplays the coaching face-off, but it remains difficult to believe the meeting doesn't have personal overtones for both men.
"It's not really about that," he insisted. "It is about the Patriots and the Cowboys. Dallas is playing well and will be a big challenge for us. I have a lot of respect for Bill and he is doing a good job with the team. I don't think that's a surprise to anybody. But the team is the matchup."
Perhaps, but in a sport where coaching plays such a prominent role in the outcome of not only games, but seasons, this meeting pits two of the league's most respected sideline walkers.
"Their attention to detail is very similar," said 13-year linebacker Roman Phifer, who has played under both coaches. "They both stress the little things that can come up in a game. Personality-wise they're very different. Parcells is more vocal as a motivator whereas Belichick is more reserved; he breaks the game down to every minute detail to get you ready."
The two are forever linked by the success they experienced together with the Giants, Jets and Patriots over 15 years, which accounts for more than half of Belichick's 29 years in the NFL and 75 percent of Parcells' 20 years in the league.
Their Giants teams won the Super Bowl after the 1986 and 1990 seasons. In 1991, Parcells retired and Belichick landed his first head-coaching job in Cleveland, where he compiled a 36-44 record in five seasons before being fired at the end of 1995.
In the meantime, Parcells had returned to coach the Patriots in 1993 and the two long-time colleagues split four meetings in three seasons before Belichick's Cleveland demise. Parcells immediately summoned his former defensive coordinator to join his Patriots staff in 1996, and together they went to a third Super Bowl, losing to Green Bay.
They left New England together in 1997 and led the Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship Game one year before their nasty breakup ended in a New York courtroom with Belichick escaping to New England.
It all makes for an interesting personal rivalry and chess match, even though the execution of their carefully laid out plans will ultimately determine the outcome.
"Somebody is going to have to make blocks and tackles and catch passes, and it won't be me and it won't be Bill," Belichick said. "We will both do the best job we can to get our teams ready and make the best decisions we can. But in the end, the players are going to win the game."
Eleven of the 53 Patriots players have worked for Parcells. Only six remain from his 1996 AFC championship club. So his return to Massachusetts is barely an issue in the locker room, even for those who actually played for his Patriots teams.
"He's coming back here to beat my butt," said wideout Troy Brown, the longest tenured Patriot and a 1993 eighth-round pick. "There's nothing special about that. I'm not playing against Bill. I'm playing against his team. After the game you can shake hands and do the sportsman thing, but it's football; it's not a reunion."
True. A reunion would imply the parties want to convene and reminisce. But Belichick and Parcells, who haven't coach against one another since Parcells' Patriots knocked off Belichick's Browns 17-14 in the 1995 season opener, are trying to convince the world and their teams it's just another NFL Sunday.
"We approach every game with the same amount of preparation," Belichick said. "The next game is always the biggest. We won't prepare any differently with the exception that we've had some extra time with the bye. I'm sure Bill will have Dallas well prepared to play us."
"I think it's an important game to (Belichick)," Phifer said. "But it's because it's one we need to win. November and December is when your team needs to be winning."
Both coaches certainly understand that. Belichick is 18-9 (.667) in the final two months of the season since taking over the Patriots, and Parcells is 78-43 (.645) all-time over that same span. So as the temperatures drop, the season heats up, and two coaches who have had success together now look for it against one another.
