His reputation was terrible. He constantly faced fines from the NFL. And controversy followed him from his first stop with the Dolphins to his second with the Bears.

No doubt, former NFL star Bryan Cox had a bad image. But he also had something Bill Parcells wanted: passion and drive. So upon the start of free agency in 1998, Parcells (then with the New York Jets) made a phone call.

"Watching him play, I'd say to myself, this guy plays so hard and tries so hard — he's got something that I want to have on my team," Parcells once wrote in an article penned for the Harvard Business Review in 2000. "So when he was a free agent, I called him on the phone and we had a straight, tough talk."

JOINING GIANTS

Soon after the chat, Cox would join Parcells in New York and make an immediate impact as his tough work ethic helped anchor a defense that would play in the AFC Championship Game two years after going 1-15.

Parcells told that story about Cox in an article he wrote eight years ago titled "The Tough Work of Turning Around a Team" as a way to illustrate the type of players he looks for. Eight years later, nothing has changed.

Friday, as free agency began at 12:01 a.m., Parcells will yet again look to turn around a team by adding more of the same. Tough players. Driven players. Motivated players.

"I'm no psychologist," wrote Parcells, who has not spoken to reporters since his introductory news conference. "I don't care what kind of personality someone has or whether it corresponds with my own . . . I just want my players to want to win as much as I want to win.

"I'm convinced if you get people onto your team who share the same goals and the same passion, and if you push them to achieve at the highest level, you're going to come out on top."

That's a mentality likely to lift the hopes of plenty of depressed fans. It also will help that the Dolphins have plenty of money (they are more than $40 million under the salary cap). But there's still one problem: This year's crop of free agents is thin.

Adding to that issue, the Dolphins already lost out Thursday on one of the players who was expected to be a top target. Pro Bowl left tackle Flozell Adams, who was scheduled to hit free agency, agreed to stay with the Cowboys by signing a six-year deal.

That's surely not the way Parcells wanted to start free agency, but his philosophy on the acquisition of players suggests he will remain confident about landing lesser-known players and developing them into stars.

"I've found it's not always the one who has the best reputation or even the most outstanding set of talents," Parcells wrote in a section of his article specifically about free agency. "It's usually the one who understands what it will take to succeed and is committed to making the effort."

Instead, almost ironically, Parcells' first major addition draws considerable similarities to Cox. The Dolphins reportedly are in trade talks with the Detroit Lions about acquiring defensive tackle Shaun Rogers.

Rogers, whose reputation also came into question after an incident at a strip club in which he was later reportedly interviewed for carrying a gun and touching a stripper, is still a strong, passionate player whom Parcells has boasted about in the past.

Rogers also was suspended four games in 2006 for violation of the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy. But Parcells believes he knows the risks involved in picking the wrong players. Perhaps that's why, as free agency begins, he likely will rely on himself and his staff to form the opinions of his future players — not the opinions formed by others as a result of past actions.

"You have to be extremely careful about the new people you bring on," Parcells wrote. "You can do serious damage with a few bad choices... . You're going to get fooled by people, and you're going to make mistakes — I know I've made my share. But after a while, you start to develop a sense of who's likely to work out."

Today, the time has come for Parcells to start proving it.