Bo Porter Attends Bill Parcells’ School of Coaching

It is no secret that there is a connection between the Houston Astros first-year manager, Bo Porter, and the soon-to-be NFL Hall of Fame Head Coach, Bill Parcells. The two have a relationship that goes back to Porter’s football playing days at the University of Iowa. It was reported that prior to Spring Training, Bo Porter met with Bill Parcells so that he could help mentor Porter on some of the finer details of coaching. Bill Parcells showed up to watch the Astros batting practice before Monday’s game against the Cardinals to see exactly what Porter is working with.
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Porter was a dual-sport athlete at the University of Iowa, as a defensive back in the fall and outfielder in the spring for the Hawkeyes. Bill Parcells played baseball at Colgate University and was good enough to be offered a contract by the Philadelphia Phillies following his freshman season. He turned that down, per his father’s request, and attended the University of Wichita where he played football. Both coaches are inspiring and fiery, so it was only natural that Parcells and Porter would one day strike up a friendship.

Some of Bill Parcells’ coaching methods have been evident thus far with the Astros in Kissimmee. One thing that has garnered much interest during Spring Training is Bo Porter deciding to leave the players’ names off of the back of their uniforms, saying that they have to earn that right. This comes straight from the Bill Parcells School of Coaching. While Parcells was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he left the Cowboys’ legendary star logo off of the rookies’ helmets during Training Camp, saying that they had to earn the star. Also, Parcells was known to repeat several inspirational quotes to his team throughout the season. Bo Porter has already decorated the Astros’ locker room with various inspirational signs, had quotes printed on practice shirts and he repeats some of the same quotes from Parcells’ coaching days.

Bill Parcells is a master of coaching and has friendships with some of the biggest names in coaching throughout sports. He helped Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin and Sean Payton to become the coaches they are today. He is also good friends with Tony LaRussa and Bob Knight. It looks like Bo Porter is in good company and I couldn’t be more excited to see Parcells as his mentor.