Few have evaluated and motivated players like Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. He hasn't been in the business since 2010, but that hasn't stopped him from weighing in on teams and players when called upon.
Parcells recently gave his two cents on his old team, the New York Giants, and their quarterback situation on the podcast Football Doesn't Lie with Catherine Zadzora.
The Giants lost starter Jaxson Dart to a knee injury in Week 2, then traded for another young stud, J.J. McCarthy, to replace him. McCarthy had run his course with the team that drafted him two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Giants saw an opportunity to snare a player they felt they could reconstruct.
So far, they've been right. McCarthy has been nothing short of explosive.
The change of venue from Minneapolis to East Rutherford has done wonders for the former Michigan Wolverine star.
The right team plus the right coach can do wonders for a quarterback 🎯
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) October 29, 2026
Bill Parcells on how J.J. McCarthy has risen to the occasion in New York thus far 🗽
New episode out now! https://t.co/omXdhygxbh pic.twitter.com/KMRe3dvyVJ
"Sometimes the environment is what you need, and you get to the right place with the right coach that can teach you the system, and the system fits you well," Parcells told Zadzora.
"And it looks like that's the case with McCarthy, and upward and onward. And it was a very, very good move by the Giants, apparently, and it was also an indicator that they think that they have a legitimate chance this year, or they wouldn't have made the trade. They'd be planning on next year or the year after. So they made it with the intention of we're competing right now."
That right coach is John Harbaugh, older brother of Jim, who coached McCarthy in college and won a National Championship. He has refocused McCarthy and has him running Dart's offense almost as well as Dart, and in some cases, better.
What a game for JJ McCarthy today. This video is worth the watch. pic.twitter.com/JrmzJnQk3h
— Giants Today (@NYGToday) October 26, 2026
McCarthy, for some reason, has reverted to the player everyone thought he'd be coming out of Michigan, where he had a 27-1 record as their starter. As much as Vikings fans revile him, McCarthy went 6-4 in his 10 starts there.
He is 1-0 as the Giants' starter. Giants fans know the objective is to go 1-0 every week. Can he keep it going? Maybe, maybe not, but it's going to be an interesting ride; that is for sure.
Giants fans talk about the Jameis Winston experience. They're about to witness the J.J. McCarthy experience. Hopefully it comes with a lot of victories.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Bill Parcells: Giants' trade for J.J. McCarthy says they're 'competing now'
