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Keyshawn Johnson recalled the ‘craziest’ Bill Belichick-Bill Parcells argument he ever saw
Belichick and Parcells didn't see eye-to-eye on a substitution during a Jets playoff game. Things got heated.
Keyshawn Johnson once described the Jets’ 1998 AFC Divisional Round win against he Jaguars as the moment he knew he was “here to stay” in the NFL.
It was his first playoff game, and he had nine catches for 121 yards, a receiving touchdown, a rushing touchdown, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
It was also where he saw what he called the “craziest” interaction he ever saw between two NFL coaches.
Jets head coach Bill Parcells and then-defensive coordinator Bill Belichick had a disagreement over putting Johnson in the game as a defensive back.
“Before the half, Jimmy Smith scored, I believe, so I was supposed to go in the game and be the safety,” Johnson told Julian Edelman on a recent episode of Games with Names. “Parcells and Belichick got into it, and it was the craziest [expletive] that I’ve ever seen on the sideline between two coaches, because Belichick didn’t want to put me in and Parcells wanted to put me in.”
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Belichick refused, Johnson said, and the Jaguars scored a touchdown on a deep ball, sending Parcells into a rage.
“I was standing there ready to go in, and he was like ‘no’, and Parcells told him something to the effect of: ‘You think you know every [expletive] thing. You’re a [expletive] genius, huh? You think you know everything. That’s why you [expletive] got fired from Cleveland.”
Belichick eventually relented, putting Johnson in the next time the situation called for it, Johnson said. Johnson caught the only interception of his career, helping the Jets reach the AFC title game where they lost to Denver.
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It wasn’t just Belichick who experienced harsh words from Parcells in those days, Johnson said.
“I watched Bill get at Charlie Weis one time,” Johnson said. “You know how you do the cards? The cards weren’t in sync. It was all messed up, and at this time Krispy Kreme donuts had just become a big thing and came to the the east coast and New York.”
“So, we used to make all the younger guys go pick them up, put them out, and Charlie would come to the player’s lounge and get some. He messed up the cards one time and Bill said: ‘I bet if these cards were Krispy Kreme donuts, you would have got that right’. I was like ‘oh [expletive],’ but that’s how he was though.”
Belichick and Parcells found a way to work together after the harsh words as Belichick remained on the Jets coaching staff through the 1999 season.
“Parcells just lit his a** up,” Johnson said. “At the time, I thought [the relationship was fine, and it’s great now they’re like boys and [expletive] now. At the time, I didn’t know the difference, he came back the next year.”
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