The quarterback has always been the most important position in pro football, even in the days when the running game was dominant. Many fans don’t realize that quarterbacks called all the plays as late as the 1970s and into the early 1980s. So even if offenses weren’t quite as complex back then and great teams had excellent running games, having a field general like Bob Griese, Terry Bradshaw or Roger Staubach was critical. As the NFL evolved into a more pass-happy league, an evolution that has accelerated in the last ten years with rules protecting the quarterbacks and defenseless receivers, the importance of the quarterback has only been magnified.

This reality makes the relationship between the head coach and the quarterback the most important in pro football. Look at the great teams over the years, and you see great partnerships between coach and quarterback leading to success on the field. It’s interesting to take a look back and see how these relationships took shape and see how they varied based on the situations and the personalities involved. Here are several interesting examples:

1-Bill Belichick and Tom Brady

Bill Belichick was known as a defensive genius when he took over the New England Patriots, but he was also known as a rigid coach who had a complete lack of imagination on offense as a result of his years as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Belichick wanted the quarterback to be just another position on the field as he didn’t seem to acknowledge the leadership qualities of the position. Tom Brady was a sixth round pick sitting on the bench behind Drew Bledsoe.

When Bledsoe got hurt, Belichick turned to Brady and immediately saw Brady’s talent, decision-making and leadership ability. When Bledsoe came back, Belichick decided to stay with Brady, which at the time was a controversial decision. They made it to the Super Bowl, and by then Belichick has so much confidence in Brady that he made the aggressive decision to drive down the field with little time left in the fourth quarter in a tie game against the Rams. John Madden famously said on television that the Patriots should have just run out the clock and took their chances in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Pats down to the game-winning field goal.

Two more Super Bowls and one undefeated regular season later, this partnership between Belichick and Brady is one of the most successful in NFL history. Belichick and his offensive coaches let Brady achieve his full potential by becoming just as imaginative on offense as Belichick had been his whole career on defense. From year to year the Patriots would beat you in many different ways, and then they grabbed Randy Moss they were almost unbeatable.

2-Mike Shanahan and John Elway

John Elway is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Yet despite his heroics with “The Drive” and countless other games that he won on sheer athletic ability, Elway had never managed to win a Super Bowl. He never had a real running game, and the Denver defenses were routinely embarrassed in Super Bowls. Then Mike Shanahan arrived. Shanahan is a stubborn system guy, and since the John Elway days he’s not had nearly as much success with his arrogant attitude. But Shanahan’s system was exactly what Elway needed. Elway bought into the changes which placed more emphasis on a running game and a disciplined approach to the passing game, and the result was two Super Bowl titles.

3-Bill Walsh and Joe Montana

Bill Walsh was a system guy. He was an offensive genius who dominated the NFL with his West Coast offense, and he happened to find the perfect quarterback for his system in third-round draft pick Joe Montana. Montana was very accurate and incredibly smart, and he played the quarterback position flawlessly in this system. Of course the 49ers were loaded with talent on offense, but the natural relationship between Walsh and Montana set a standard that would be copied over and over again in the NFL. Look at Aaron Rodgers today, and you see flashes on what Walsh and Montana created thirty years ago. Rodgers and Mike McCarthy have forged a great relationship following the Brett Favre drama in Green Bay.

Of course there are exceptions that help prove the rule. Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw never got along, but they managed to ride one of the best defenses in history plus a great running game to four Super Bowls, and Bradshaw thrived under pressure despite his frosty relationship with Noll. Bill Parcells was notorious for riding Phil Simms, and they had great success as well.

But there’s no doubt that the relationship between the head coach and the quarterback is usually a critical component to sustained success in the NFL. It will be interesting to see how young quarterbacks like Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford grow with their head coaches.

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Former NFL player Marcellus Wiley once told me that if you took Bill Parcells out to a practice field and told him he only had five minutes to evaluate 100 players, he could still tell you the strengths and weaknesses of every man on that field to a T. So it’s not surprising that the “Big Tuna” knew that Rex Ryan was going to be successful in the NFL.

According to a ESPNNewYork.com report, Parcells advised Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum to hire Ryan two years ago. In fact, had Parcells not be so close with current Dolphins’ head coach Tony Sparano when they two of them coached together in Dallas, he would have hired Ryan in Miami.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Parcells said.

“I was very impressed with Rex when I met with him,” Parcells said Tuesday night by phone. “I could just sense that, ‘Hey, this guy’s going to have a chance.’”

“I had a fierce rivalry with Rex’s father when I was coaching the Giants,” Parcells said, “but I held Buddy in high regard. What made Buddy a dangerous adversary was that he knew what he was looking for personnel-wise, and Rex is the same way. That’s a pretty good head start for Rex because there are quite a few coaches in this league who don’t know what they’re looking for.”

Parcells was very clear in the interview that he takes no credit for Rex’s development, or even for Tannenbaum’s decision to hire him. And why would he? He still receives paychecks with the Miami Dolphins’ logo on it, so why would he want to admit to helping a division rival?

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On the heels of a humiliating loss to their bitter rivals, the Minnesota Vikings have fired Brad Childress and named defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier interim head coach, per Adam Schefter.

I’m sure Anthony will have something more to say on the matter, but as a longtime Packer fan, I’m a little sad to see Chilly go. It has been fun to watch the Vikings’ downward spiral starting with their disappointing last-minute loss in the NFC championship game to the cluster#%&* that is this season. Childress lost the locker room a while ago, and since he’s not winning, there’s no point in keeping him around.

It’s possible that owner Zygi Wilf saw how the Cowboys suddenly became respectable once they made a head coaching change and decided to follow suit after the Packers took his team behind the woodshed on Sunday. Or maybe he just wanted to see what Frazier could do with this team for the rest of the season before potentially committing to him long term. (Though with the way the defense played — and bickered — against the Packers, the defense definitely has its issues as well.)

So let the speculation begin. Even before this news, there were already rumors that Wilf might tag Bill Parcells to come in and change the team’s culture. There are a number of other good candidates out there as well, including Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher.

And — gasp! — what if a new coach meant that Brett Favre might want to come back for another go-around!?!

Buckle your seat belts, people!

You knew that somebody, somewhere was going to cast a line for the Big Tuna as soon as he escaped Miami.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune speculates that the Vikings may be interested in Bill Parcells as soon as they fire Brad Childress if they decide to part ways with Brad Childress at the end of the year.

A reporter from the Palm Beach Post saw an advance copy of the NFL Network film about Bill Parcells that will debut tonight. In it Parcells makes it clear that at the age of 69 he isn’t ready to ride off into the sunset.

“Get me back out there,” Parcells says. “I can do this one more time. That’s how I feel.”

Well, isn’t that interesting. Parcells most recently worked as a consultant for the Miami Dolphins and last coached in 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys. He is best remembered, however, for winning two Super Bowls as coach of the New York Giants.

That is the same organization that Zygi Wilf has a huge fan of before he bought the Vikings in 2005. Already many have connected the dots that Wilf might be interested in bringing Parcells to Minnesota.

Zulgad goes on to note that Wilf has been more than satisfied with the job president of player personnel Rick Spielman and vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski have done. Thus, it’s not even certain that Wilf would want to bring in Parcells. But there’s no doubt it’s an interesting thought.

True-blue Giants fans love themselves some Parcells. The man can do no wrong and if Wilf still bleeds “Big Blue,” then he’s going to have at least a faint interest in hiring Parcells (especially after Childress gets done making a mess of everything this season).

Will everything come together? Who knows – again, this is just speculation on Zulgad’s part. There needs to be more to this than, “Wilf was a Giants fan so surely he’ll be interested in Parcells.” But it’s not difficult to connect the dots here.

The Dolphins announced today that GM Jeff Ireland is taking the reins from executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells.

From USA Today’s The Huddle:

“Effective immediately, Jeff Ireland will assume full control over all aspects and decisions in regard to the Miami Dolphin football team and support staff.”

However the Dolphins also noted “this was the intent of the structure put in place in the past,” and that Parcells “will remain with the club on a daily consultant basis.”

There was no word as to whether Ireland’s official title had changed.

Even though I think it’s amazing how Parcells continues to come and leave as he pleases in the NFL, the Dolphins are in better shape now than when he first arrived (the team was 1-15 then), so he essentially fulfilled his job requirements. And with Tony Sparano in charge of a team that now has Chad Henne, Brandon Marshall and Karlos Dansby at its core, Parcells has set Miami up for the foreseeable future, too.

Parcells will remain with the organization on a daily consulting basis, according to the team. So as of now, it doesn’t look like he’ll be jetting off to another team anytime soon.

Of course, this is Bill Parcells were talking about, so nobody should be surprised if he popped up in another NFL city sometime down the road.

As the 2010 NFL Draft nears, Marcellus Wiley feels for players that are about to get their first taste of playing professional football. As a rookie second round pick of the Bills in 1997, he cut his teeth playing alongside guys like Bruce Smith, Bryce Paup and Phil Hansen. He learned quickly that in order to succeed in the NFL, athleticism can only get you so far; you also have to have a sound work ethic, great technique at your position and a solid football IQ.

Wiley, now a NFL analyst for ESPN’s NFL Live and sometimes a co-host on “Mike and Mike in the Morning” and “SportsNation,” was kind enough to chat with us for nearly 25 minutes about a variety of topics recently, from why young defensive ends tend to struggle their first couple years in the league, to what it was like to play for coaches like Marv Levy and Bill Parcells. Wiley even shared a couple of stories with us from his playing days as a Bill, like the time Ruben Brown taught him a lesson about technique in practice and the shocking surprise Ted Washington had crumbled up on the front seat of his car.

The Scores Report: Hi, this Anthony.

Marcellus Wiley: Hey, this is Marcellus Wiley.

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According to Dolphins beat writer Edgar Thompson of the Palm Beach Post, Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan will “100 percent” be Miami’s pick at No. 12 in next week’s draft if he’s available.

Many draft pundits speculated that the Dolphins would select Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant at No. 12 before the team acquired Brandon Marshall from the Broncos earlier this week. But with their need at receiver filled, the Fins can now concentrate on adding a pure pass rusher.

After racking up 19.5 sacks (including 12.5 last season) while playing at Georgia Tech the past three years, Morgan is highly regarded as the best pass rusher in this year’s draft. While he lacks pure athleticism, speed and overall quickness, he exhibits good instincts, awareness, and has a non-stop motor. He was highly productive in college and has an outstanding work ethic, which is probably why Bill Parcells and the Dolphins are drawn to him.

Unless the Seahawks select him at No. 6 or the Jaguars target him at No. 10, Morgan should be on the board when the Dolphins pick at No. 12.

Adam Schefter reports that the Miami Dolphins have traded for the talented yet unpredictable Brandon Marshall.

For the second straight year, the Broncos will pull off a blockbuster deal, this time trading wide receiver Brandon Marshall to Miami for a second-round pick next Friday and what is thought to be an additional second-round pick in 2011, according to league sources.

The trade is contingent upon the league processing the paper work and Marshall passing his physical, neither of which is expected to be an issue Wednesday. Marshall is scheduled to fly to Miami to take his physical and, if he passes, sign what will be one of the most lucrative wide receiver deals in NFL history. It is the type of contract that an unhappy Marshall had been seeking in recent years. Miami will provide it, making Marshall very happy.

The general consensus was that Marshall would eventually land in Seattle, but Miami had a need for a true #1 WR and Marshall is one of the best in the game. Two second rounders is a lot to give up for a player with Marshall’s recent history of attitude problems, but head honcho Bill Parcells obviously believes that a new contract and a fresh start in sunny Miami is just what he needs.

Fantasy-wise, this is a boost for Chad Henne and a slight downgrade for Marshall, who has to learn a new offense and develop a rapport with his second QB in as many years. Kyle Orton and Denver’s offense will be hurt by Marshall’s loss, but this probably means that 2009 disappointment Eddie Royal will be a prime breakout candidate in 2010.

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