MIAMI — Bill Parcells enjoys spending his spring afternoons taking in baseball games, and he did exactly that this past weekend, watching the Marlins and Cardinals play on Saturday and Sunday.

But Parcells, the Dolphins' executive vice president in charge of everything, had to mix business with pleasure Sunday as he extinguished the flames of controversy rising out of a story that said defensive end Jason Taylor and the Dolphins have agreed to part ways.

"It is not true," Parcells said before heading to Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. "The only way Jason Taylor doesn't play for the Dolphins in 2008 is if he retires. The team is not going to trade him."

Parcells forged a two-front attack on the Yahoo.com story that reported the split between Taylor and the Dolphins. First, he said it was simply wrong. Then he said it was a case of "journalistic irresponsibility."

"There's a lot of that going around these days," Parcells said.

Finally, to drive home the point behind his words, Parcells added this:

"Jason Taylor is going to play for the Dolphins unless he retires. And I tell you what: If we trade Jason Taylor, I'll call you myself to tell you it's happening. But I'm not going to have to do that because it isn't happening. That's how sure I am."

That is as strong and compelling a denial of a story as I have ever heard.

And we should believe Parcells because his word hangs in the balance after he told multiple media outlets the same thing. We should believe him until and unless he has a Nick Saban, "I will not be the Alabama coach" moment.

So where does it leave us?

Feeling uncomfortable, for one thing.

Even though Yahoo.com's Jason Cole, the former Miami Herald reporter who wrote the original story, stood by it yesterday, Parcells made a logical argument for not having Taylor on the trade block now, even if the team might want to trade him later.

VERY HARMFUL

"Free agency is going on, and we are trying to put a team together, and this kind of thing is very harmful," Parcells said.

There is no arguing that. Parcells understands that if free agent Calvin Pace, the Arizona Cardinals' strong-side linebacker who is mulling his future, were to read Taylor is going to be traded, he might pick the Jets over Miami because he will see his chances of winning in New York are better.

Parcells doesn't want any potential free agents to believe the Dolphins are giving up on Taylor, and, by so doing, are giving up on 2008.

So now the ball has been lobbed into Taylor's court. He hasn't said anything out of turn on the subject other than to acknowledge he is under contract to Miami for another two seasons.

"Bill Parcells speaks for the Miami Dolphins organization and Jason Taylor is a loyal member of the Miami Dolphins," was the cryptic e-mail from agent Gary Wichard, who represents Taylor.

OTHER INTERESTS

But although Taylor might be "loyal" to the Dolphins, he certainly doesn't seem committed to the Dolphins. In fact, everything he has done lately points away from the Dolphins and toward his post-NFL career.

Taylor will be competing on Dancing With The Stars starting March 17 while his teammates are participating in their offseason training and conditioning program.

He won't split time doing both as he has moved his family to Los Angeles for the duration of his time on the show.

And Taylor is said to be weighing other "opportunities" that might tie him up beyond the Dancing With The Stars commitment.

In other words, the player who talked about retirement after the 2005 season is acting every bit like a man on the path to retirement now. That is why the caveat in Parcells' quote — "unless he retires" — raises flags of interest.

If Taylor retires it would be a too-soon and abrupt ending to a fine career. It would usher an exit without a final push at the playoffs, much less a championship. It would just seem wrong.

But to hear Bill Parcells tell it, that is the only way Taylor won't be in a Dolphin uniform next season.