Tagliabue Steps Into the Middle

NEW ORLEANS — Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who is employed by the NFL owners, will referee a dispute between one of them and Coach Bill Parcells.

Parcells wants his release from New England to coach elsewhere, presumably the New York Jets, but Patriots’ owner Bob Kraft claims Parcells can go nowhere without his team receiving compensation.

A conference call involving Tagliabue and the antagonists is set for today, with a decision possible by Wednesday.

Parcells, who has been at odds with Kraft in a dispute over how much power the coach should have, did not return to New England on the team charter from New Orleans. Parcells is prohibited from talking to any other team until Tagliabue has made his ruling.

Before this season began, Parcells asked that his contract be shortened by a year in exchange for financial considerations, which included a vague clause dealing with compensation if Parcells chose to coach elsewhere in 1997.

Kraft maintains the Patriots should get compensation if Parcells leaves or, he insists, he can force Parcells to sit out a year.

When Don Shula left the Baltimore Colts to coach Miami, the Dolphins had to give the Colts their No. 1 pick in the 1971 draft.

If Tagliabue orders the Jets to give their No. 1 pick to the Patriots, New England will be getting the first overall pick.