Parcells resigns from Jets'
front-office position
by Ken Berger
Newsday
January 9, 2001
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - A chapter
in football history ended Tuesday
when Bill Parcells resigned as di
rector of football operations for
the Jets, walking away from the
sport that has given and taken so
much of his life, perhaps for the
last time.
Whether there is more to be
written on Parcells, 59, winner of
two Super Bowls, remains to be
seen. Deciding that he can no
longer take the commitment of a
daily life in football, he resigned
his position effective at the end of
the month. He will spend the rest
of this week in his office at Weeb
Ewbank Hall, where dark curtains
kept out the sunlight so he could
better study game tape at the break
of dawn. It was that grind, and the
singular life of a football man, that
Parcells finally decided he could
no longer endure.
'This year, I was still in this of
fice at 7 o'clock in the morning,"
Parcells said. "1 was still watch
ing those films and those tapes and
doing the things I had always done
behaviorally. It's just time to get
out of this routine. There's no time
off. There's no time away. You
can't get away from the job."
Parcells had thorough discus
sions with Owner Woody Johnson
in the past week about the state of
the organization and made his fi
nal decision Monday that he
would resign and not take any
other position with the team.
"The main reason was I feel like
a long-term commitment to the
JetS is now in order and I don't feel
like I'm the one to make it,"
Parcells said.
"When this season was over and
1 now was faced with hiring a new
coach and going through all that,
I don't feel like I want to do all of
that again. I think it's time for
someone else to do it."
He has discussed possible can
didates for general manager and
coach with Johnson and will con-
tinue to assist the owner in what
ever capacity he is asked. But
Celtics have hit rock bottom
by Stull Smith
('hicago ihunc
I aniku \, 9, 201)1
Rick Pittno re,igned Aluii Lt Tht,
not ne\%,. Guy, like Rick Point) al-
wa s resign - go to , s omething bet
ter, something different. something
something to keep their
name before the public.
There was just one loser this time
l'itino quit after about 31/2 seasons
as coach and president of the Boston
Celtics. The loser was the Celtics, once
the most successful franchise in pro
basketball and one of the elite names
in professional sports.
Yankees, Packers. Canadiens,
Celtics. These have been the franchises
s . ) non) mous with success and ()nn-
nation in their sports. Pitino cane to
reclaim that heritage in the name of
Red Auerbach, 13111 Russell, Bob
C(.,uSV, Ton He irlSOhn and Larry Bird.
Ile leaves, richer by the $2B million
he was paid the last four seasons while
leavimi. the remainder of his $5l) mil
lion 10-year deal, though poorer for
having allowed the legacy and reputa
tion of the Celtics to sink even Im‘er
on his watch.
"It has been a great privilege to
coach the greatest basketball tradition
in sports," Pitino said in a statement
Monday. "Top to bottom it is a first
class franchise. Celtic legends have
been a true inspiration to me. I wish
we could have accomplished more
between the lines."
Pitino never could, failing to make
the playoffs. Matters only got worse
this season with a team that clearly had
tired of his constant threats to quit.
Boston has lost six straight and I 6-of
-21 games since a 7-7 start. The Celtics,
whom Pitino begged for defensive
play, rank 26th in the NBA defensively,
allowing 98.3 points per game.
Parcells said, "I am not going to
have any direct responsibility with
hiring of future personnel here
with the Jets."
Johnson, now charged with
picking the correct people to chart
a course for the team he purchased
last January for $635 million, re
leased a statement that said, in
part: "While it will be hard to re
place someone of Bill's ability and
leadership, we intend to use all our
efforts to build on what he started
by creating a first-class manage
ment team. We will immediately
start to pursue all avenues to find
the right mix."
Though insisting "my intention
is not to coach," Parcells would
not rule out any options for how
he will fill the void he is inviting
by leaving the game.
"If I wanted to coach, I could
have come back and coached the
Jets," Parcells said. "I could have
done that, so obviously I feel very
strongly about it. My intention is
I'm moving on to another venue. I
don't know what that is yet."
Parcells rejected the idea of re
maining director of football opera
tions for another year, saying, "I
don't think that's in the best inter
est of the New York Jets."
Asked why he did not become
president of the team, a position
that would have taken him away
from day-to-day football opera
tions, Parcells said, "That's not
what I do best."
Parcells leaves the Jets in much
better shape - on a talent and or
ganizational basis - than they were
in when he became coach in 1997.
The team was 30-20 in three sea
sons under Parcells, advancing to
the AFC Championship Game in
1998.
Parcells, who maintained a low
public profile after stepping down
as coach, discussed the rigors of
his job as general manager for the
first time.
"People do not know how con
suming this job is," he said. "It's
a very consuming job the way I
do it. ... I wanted to see how this
went. But once you've been on the
front lines, it's hard to go on the
back bunker."
Nino. 48, is expected to be a can
didate for a major college head coach
* position. His longtime assistant,
Jim O'Brien, takes over in Boston for
the rest of the season. Former Celtics
Dennis Johnson, Quinn Buckner, Rick
Carlisle, Don Chaney and Paul
Westphal, and
St. John's
Jarvis, have
been specu
lated about as
potential suc-
cessors. But
there's also
the likelihood
owner Paul
Gaston will
sell the team
and a group
Bird would
come in to reshape the organization.
It has a storied past. Eight straight
NBA championships from 1959
through 1966, 11 in 13 years from
1957 through 1969, two more in the
19705, three more in the 1980 s. Dur
ing that span, the line of succession
went from Bill Russell to Dave
Cowens to Larry Bird. And all of them
had one thing in common: Auerbach
acquired them through trades and draft
day gambles.
Cowens was the fourth pick in the
draft and Bird the sixth. Russell was
acquired through a trade for Ed
Macauley and the rights to Cliff Hagen
and by getting Rochester, with the No.
1 pick, to pass. Rochester additionally
was granted the Ice Capades in their
arena to offset basketball losses.
The Celtics always seemed better
and smarter than everyone else, spe
cial.
But once Auerbach's influence
waned, so did the Celtics' on profes-
\..../
A
Martin's case goes to the
Supreme Court next week
Casey Martin has another day in
court Wednesday and it's a big one -
the Supreme Court will hear the PGA
Tour's appeal of the original 1998 rul
ing that was upheld on appeal in 1999,
allowing him to use a golf cart while
playing.
Martin, who will listen to arguments
before the nine-member panel in
Washington, wants to get on playing
golf; he will make his season debut this
week at the Tucson Open. Martin has
no exempt status on the PGA Tour af
ter he missed retaining his 2001 Tour
card by one shot at qualifying school,
so he has asked for sponsor's exemp
tions until he starts playing the
Terrell says he'll exit early for draft
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan
receiver David Terrell said Monday
that he will forgo his senior season
and enter the NFL draft.
Terrell, whose decision was ex
pected, said he has received indica
tions from the NFL that he will be
the first receiver drafted, possibly the
first player drafted. Terrell is ex
pected to be at least a top-10 pick.
San Diego has the No. 1 pick, fol
lowed by Arizona and Cleveland.
The Lions draft 18th. Terrell said he
has no strong preference for a spe
cific team.
"You really can't control that," he
said. "I just want to make an instant
impact."
Terrell said the decision was diffi
cult because of his strong feelings for
U-M. He has yet to choose an agent,
although he said Lon Babby, Grant
Hill's agent, is a strong possibility.
Terrell caught 67 passes for 1,130
yards and 14 touchdowns this sea
son. The yardage total was the most
by a receiver in school history. He is
the first Wolverine to skip his fourth
year since Charles Woodson, the No.
4 pick in the 1998 draft. Woodson
sional sports
The Celtics haven't advance be
yond the first round of the playoffs
since the 1991-92 season. They
haven't been to the conference finals
for 13 years. Many of the NBA's top
players today cannot recall the Celtics
"It has been a great privilege to coach the greatest bas
ketball tradition in sports. Top to bottom it is a first
cla.s.s franchise. Celtic legends have been a true inspira
tion to me. I wish we could have accomplished more
between the lines."
ever being a serious NBA contender.
Kobe Bryant was 8 the last time the
Celtics went to the NBA Finals.
Many trace the decline of the
Celtics to the drug overdose death of
Maryland star Len Bias in 1986. Bias
had been the No. 2 pick in the NBA
draft and the Celtics had perhaps their
best team ever, their final champion
ship team with Bird, Kevin McHale
and Robert Parish. Bias was to be the
star in the line of succession from
Bird.
It again was Auerbach who
manuevered to get Bias, having
traded Gerald Henderson in 1984 to
get the draft pick for him.
But Bias died and then, when de
veloping star Reggie Lewis died of
heart failure after the 1992-93 season
after averaging more than 20 points
for the second straight year, the
Celtics tragically had lost two of the
young stars they expected to lead
them through the 19905.
by Thomas Bonk
Los Angeles Times
January 10, 2001
by Michael Rosenberg
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
January 9, 2001
-Rick Pitino, former coach and
president of the Boston Celtics.
"I know I have the talent
to compete out there,"
Martin said. "But there's
no quick fix. I'm just try
ing to be patient."
-golfer Casey Martin
Buy.com Tour that begins March 8 in
Gainesville, Fla.
"It's a chance to make some money
was taken by the Oakland Raiders.
Had Terrell stayed at Michigan, he
likely would have ended his career
with every important school receiving
record. But he said the records and
glory are not what he'll miss most.
"I'm probably going to miss just my
friends, the neighborhood," he said.
"Everything that was special to me in
Ann Arbor."
Now that he's gone, he has another
priority, for his mother, Barbara: "A
big ol' house that she can get lost in."
Terrell consulted with coach Lloyd
Carr and receivers coach Erik (Soup)
Campbell about the decision.
"I wanted him to make the best de
cision for him," Campbell said. "There
are pros and cons to everything, and I
would love to see Dave come back for
his senior year. . . . I wanted to make
sure David is doing this for the right
reasons. He's making his own deci
Campbell admitted that for selfish
reasons he wanted Terrell hack, but
that he didn't try to influence him.
"If I could be there for 10 years,
Soup would have me for 10 years,"
Terrell said.
Terrell said he plans to train with
Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris
Carter before the draft; Carter is
known for his rigorous off-season
Those tragedies, however, account
for the succession of management blun
ders that again leaves the team head
ing toward still another rebuilding.
Auerbach was phased out in the late
1980 s and Dave Gavitt took over in
1990.
imagining a star
as he was, not as he is, and trying for a
quick fix to remain competitive.
When that wasn't working, they com
pounded the mistake by signing another
aging former star, Dominique Wilkins.
He left after a troubled season for Eu
rope. Then the Celtics invested big in
European star Dino Radja, who never
fit well and returned to Europe.
At the same time, the drafts, which
once brought the likes of Bird, Cowens,
Sam Jones, John Havlicek, McHale,
Westphal and JoJo White, were com
ing up dry.
There was Dee Brown and Acie Earl
with top 20 picks and Eric Montross
with a top 10 pick.
And then came Pitino, the boy won
der who had 15 winning seasons in 17
years of coaching, turning around pro
grams at Boston University and Provi
dence, winning an NCAA title at Ken
tucky and having a successful two-year
stint in the NBA with the Knicks. Al
ways seemingly in demand, he said his
and you never know what's going to
happen," said Martin, who will not split
time between the tours once he starts
playing the Buy.com regularly.
Martin can accept seven sponsor's ex
emptions on the PGA Tour and has asked
for one from Nissan Open tournament
director Tom Pulchinski.
As his date with the Supreme Court
draws closer, Martin has been practic
ing nearly every day at Eugene (Ore.)
Country Club near his home. Although
he ranked No. 6 in driving distance last
year on the PGA Tour, he was No. 179
in putting and he took lessons from Jim
McLean at PGA West.
"I know I have the talent to compete
out there," Martin said. "But there's no
quick fix. I'm just trying to be patient."
A decision is expected before the end
of June.
workouts. Terrell also said he plans to
take correspondence courses so he can
stay on track for his degree.
Terrell is known for making big
plays and big statements. His playful
trash-talking sometimes overshad
owed the fact that he was one of the
team's hardest-working players.
"That's one thing he never shied
away from is hard work," Campbell
said. "He's a guy who demands to be
pushed. He loves to be pushed and
plays hard. He has worked hard. -
Last week, quarterback Drew
Henson said he would return for his
senior season. Henson already has
made more than $1 million from his
baseball career, but soon Terrell will
sign a contract with a multimillion
dollar bonus.
"I can treat him for a change,"
Terrell cracked.
Bye, Buckeye: Ohio State
cornerback Nate Clements said he is
leaving school a year early to make
himself available for the NFL draft.
Clements started all 12 games this sea
son, finishing with 68 tackles, four in
terceptions and a team-high 13 passes
broken up. He also averaged 13.1
yards on punt returns. Clements is the
second OSU underclassman to declare
for the draft, joining defensive tackle
Ryan Pickett,
destiny and his desire always was the
Celtics.
Pitino took over for M.L. Carr with
hopes of landing the top pick of the '97
draft, Tim Duncan. They didn't get him
in the lottery and now Pitino, curiously,
says he wouldn't have taken the job if
he knew the Celtics could not get
Duncan.
The first
big mistake was
the 1992 signing
of former All-
Star Xavier
McDaniel. Once
a feared competi
tor and scorer,
McDaniel's knee
problems had
limited him se
verely by then.
But the Celtics
made the com
mon mistake of
In a panic because his whole plan
rested on that, Pitino got rid of much
of his scouting staff and selected
Chancey Bullips and Ron Mercer, with
the Nos. 3 and 6 picks. He said they
would be his future, but soon he traded
them for little. He also passed on pick
ing Tracy McCrady and Tim Thomas.
Players such as Pervis Ellison and
Dana Burros got long-term contracts
and then, in a frenzy to get salary cap
space to sign free agents, Pitino re
nounced nine players, including Rick
Fox and David Wesley, the latter now
starring for the Charlotte Hornets.
Pitino used that cap space to lure free
agent Travis Knight, who was a bust
and soon traded, and Chris Mills, also
soon traded.
Influenced by his own agent, David
Falk, Pitino also traded for Falk clients
of limited worth such as Kenny Ander
son, who had a long-term deal worth
about $5O million, and Walter McCarty
and Vitaly Potapenko, who were given
long-term deals. The Cleveland Cava
liers used the draft pick from the
Potapenko deal to draft Andre Miller,
one of the top young point guards in
the NBA and a player Pitino has tried
to acquire from the Cavaliers. This
summer Pitino even signed free agents
unwanted by the 17-victory Bulls -
Randy Brown and Chris Carr.
In the end, Saturday, it was Pitino in
tears in Miami as his players walked
Mourning. It is a matter of how long it
will take them to rebuild once again.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2001
Carruth's ex
girlfriend says he
threatened to
have her killed
by Tim Whitmire
Knight-Ridder Tribune
January 6, 2001
CHARLOTTE, N.C. An ex-girl
friend testified today that Rae
Carruth demanded she get an abor
tion after she became pregnant and
threatened to have her killed if she
refused.
The testimony, from Amber
Turner, 21, of Colorado, came in
the second day of the prosecution's
rebuttal at Carruth's capital murder
trial.
Turner said she ended the 1998
pregnancy with an abortion.
Prosecutors are seeking the death
penalty for Carruth, 26, who is
charged with arranging the Novem
ber 1999 fatal shooting of Cherica
Adams, who was eight months
pregnant with his son.
The baby survived; Adams died
a month later.
Defense lawyers battled fiercely
to limit Turner's testimony or keep
it out altogether, but prosecutors
succesfully argued that Turner
would rebut the defense's claim
that Carruth had no motive for mas
terminding the attack on Adams.
Turner told jurors that she began
dating Carruth in late 1996, when
she was a 17-year-old high school
student and he was a senior at the
University of Colorado.
She said Carruth gave her $5OO
a month even before he was drafted
by the Carolina Panthers in April
1997, telling her the money came
from his family.
After he was taken in the first
round of the NFL draft, she said,
Carruth gave her $15,000 and a
new Lexus.
During this time, Turner said,
Carruth repeatedly complained
about paying child support for an
out-of-wedlock son he had fathered
in California. And she said he
talked about having a paternity test
to see if he really was the father of
Rae Carruth Jr.
Turner said she moved to Char
lotte with Carruth in the summer
of 1997 and lived with him during
his rookie season with the Panthers.
The pregnancy came the follow
ing spring, she said, after she spent
five days in Charlotte with Carruth.
When she called Carruth and told
him about the pregnancy, Turner
said, his first response was, "You
better be joking, you better be jok
ing."
During a later conversation,
Turner said Carruth told her, "You
can't have no kids. I'm not going
to have another kid with someone
I'm not going to be with."
If she didn't have an abortion,
she said, Carruth threatened, "I'll
send somebody out there (to Colo
rado) to kill you. You know I'll do
it."
Turner also read from an August
letter Carruth wrote from jail that
included a long list of statements
he wanted her to repeat to police,
including that he was upset at miss
ing the birth of Rae Jr., and that he
had talked about suing for custody
of Rae Jr.
Under questioning by prosecu
tor Gentry Caudill, Turner said
many of those statements were not
true.
The morning session ended with
defense lawyer David Rudolf be
ginning his cross-examination of
Turner by focusing on an August
telephone conversation in which
Turner asked him if she should talk
to police investigating Adams'
death.
As Rudolf disputed Turner's ac
count of the conversation and
Turner argued with the defense
lawyer, Superior Court Judge
Charles Lamm repeatedly warned
her not to volunteer information
beyond the scope of Rudolf's ques
tions.
After sending the jury out for
their lunch break, he told prosecu
tors that Turner was close to put
ting Rudolf in a position where the
lawyer could argue that he should
become a witness in the case - a
developmpnt that the judge said
could forahim to declare a mis
trial.