Bill Parcells and Tony Dungy Wise to Shun Saints Position for Retirement

Would you want to be the New Orleans Saints head coach right now?

Would you want to have to step in and take over another man's team, knowing you'd be doing so for only one year? Would you want to do so under the shadow of a paid bounty scandal, and without the general manager and assistant head coach around for the start of the season?

Would you want to take on all this drama?

Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't, but two men who have decided against it are retired coaches Bill Parcells and Tony Dungy, who won't be taking the position. From Peter King of Sports Illustrated:

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Parcells could not be reached to confirm this story, but a source close to the team confirmed that Parcells is almost certain to stay retired. Of course, with the 70-year-old Parcells, you can never say never, but it's highly unlikely you'll see him on the sidelines this fall.

It was also confirmed this morning that Tony Dungy, the other retired Super Bowl coach who made sense as a Saints candidate, has not been contacted by the Saints, and would not be interested in the job if the Saints did reach out. Dungy is happily employed as an NBC "Football Night in America'' analyst, and he also wants to spend the fall watching son Eric play football.

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It just seems like too strange of a situation for an outsider to come into this situation and be the coach for a year.

NFL coaches generally are organized men who like doing things their way, and stepping into another coach's system, with that coach's staff and players doesn't sound like the sort of challenge most coaches would relish.

No, it sounds more like a hassle to me.

Neither one of these coaches has anything less to prove, nor likely wants to deal with the headaches walking into the New Orleans' locker room will bring. Bounty Gate will be a story all season long, and why deal with the constant scrutiny that comes from a situation you had nothing to do with?

It was a smart move for Parcells to say no, and Dungy to essentially take his name out of the running. It's probably better for the Saints as well, who should promote from within and, for lack of a better term, keep it in the family this year.

Continuity will be key for the Saints this year if they want to push past this scandal and make the playoffs. Bringing in a big name unfamiliar with the system in place would be counter-intuitive.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are growing a playoff beard.