Remembering the Time Parcells Tried to Lure Woodson Out of Retirement

Longtime Dallas Cowboys safety and three-time Super Bowl Champion Darren Woodson will go into the Ring of Honor at halftime of Sunday’s Cowboys-Seahawks game at AT&T Stadium, and as a result, a lot of folks around North Texas are dusting off fun, old stories about Woodson’s career.

After all, it’s good to remember, and with the current Cowboys in last place in the NFC East through six games, kind of necessary.

Today on ESPN Dallas, Todd Archer presents an illuminating look at the end of Woodson’s career, his relationship with Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells and how Parcells actually tried to lure Woodson out of retirement to return to the Cowboys in 2006--which would turn out to be his final year as head coach.

Parcells had been the head coach during Woodson’s final season in 2003, but by 2006, Woodson had moved on.

"I told him I was all the way checked out, I'm done," Woodson said. "I was at a different time in my life. I had 10 or 12 surgeries over my career and I just got to the point, man, enough is enough."

Woodson hasn’t looked back, and has flourished as an analyst with ESPN in his post-football life. As for Parcells, he’s just glad he got to coach Woodson for the short time he did.

"I just had him for a short time with him but I'm certainly grateful for that," Parcells said. "I really liked the guy. It was easy to have a vision for the player because he was so versatile. I'm happy for him. He deserves to be where he's going. You know, he never got an overly amount of publicity but for defensive coaches, who have a trained eye -- and there's a few of them around--guys like this are very special."