Watch closely. Each of his movements. Listen in. All of his words. And don't underestimate a single one of them.

You see that man with the white hair standing alone on the sideline of the Dolphins' practice field over there? For now, nobody is around him, which means he's thinking deep. His name is Bill Parcells, and he's The Boss. A Vito Corleone with shorts and sunglasses.

``The only Don I know,'' says nose tackle Jason Ferguson, one of Parcells' most loyal long-time associates.

Did you just see that? Channing Crowder, another associate responsible for executing hits whenever necessary, just shook hands with the head of the family as he walked past him. No words exchanged. None necessary, either. Just a quick sign of respect.

That's the way it is with Parcells these days: People always paying their respect.

True, things have changed for Miami's football chairman these days. Life has slowed since he moved to South Florida to get things cleaned up. Does quite a bit of golfing. Some horse betting here and there. And he's always watching baseball.

Yet, no matter the role, no matter the way he spends his hours, the respect never wavers. Even if no one really knows what The Boss really does around these parts.

``It's a mystery,'' says Ricky Williams, an associate who does a lot of running for Parcells and has been known to accept contracts without much hesitation. ``None of us know how much pull he has or what he does. But if we don't live up to his expectations, we're not going to have a job very long.''

No one knows how long he's going to be around, either. Now, unlike some of his other stops, The Boss isn't heading into retirement without making sure his family is in good hands. Loyal hands. Many of Parcells' associates are confident about that.

``He's bringing up a new one with Tony Sparano,'' Ferguson says. ``Got that Jersey connection.''

This Sparano guy, the one blowing the whistle in the middle of the field on this mid-August day, that's the underboss. Some of the fellas will tell you they report only to Sparano. And that's true. When it comes to the daily routine, Sparano is the guy.

``I've never seen Bill intervene on any of Tony's decisions,'' says linebacker Akin Ayodele, an associate who has handled contracts in two cities for Parcells. ``I don't know what happens upstairs. But it's never happened in front of the players.''

That's also true. If Parcells has any beef, it's handled in a private sit-down, attended exclusively by Parcells, Sparano and Jeff Ireland, a red head who serves as the family's consigliere.

Whenever the time comes for Sparano to take over the family here in Miami, Ireland is expected to stick around while working in an increased role himself. No doubt about it, with Sparano and Ireland learning the ropes, it looks like The Boss has made sure there's a very nice setup for the future without him.

But nobody around here wants to think about those days. Times are too good for that. You see, in all of his decades of similar success, Parcells did some of his best work last year. Might even call him AFC East's boss of bosses, heading the strongest family.

Just two seasons ago, after former boss Cam Cameron got knocked down for being a failure, Parcells brought his guys to South Florida and began making moves. Before long, things couldn't have been better.