Register-Star Loves Parcells: A Biography

Local Author Chronicles Legendary Giants Coach Bill Parcells
Carlo DeVito skillfully reveals the humanity behind football competitor
By Jeff Alexander
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

Published:
Sunday, December 18, 2011 2:09 AM EST

GHENT — The name Bill Parcells evokes strong reaction from sports fans, but the legendary New York Giants head coach has secured his place in NFL immortality due to his Super Bowl victories and fiery personality.

Parcells’ relentless work ethic has transformed franchises on the verge of the abyss to contenders and local author Carlo DeVito accepted the challenge to craft an engaging biography of the man otherwise referred to as Big Tuna.

“People didn’t realize how private of a person he was. My biggest challenge was to portray him as a three-dimensional character and finding people who would help me try to unlock keys to this personal life,” reflected Ghent resident Carlo DeVito.

No stranger to the world of publishing, DeVito has written several books on sports figures and his other passion, wine. DeVito and his wife Dominique own Hudson-Chatham Winery in Ghent.



Research for “Parcells: A Biography” took two years, as DeVito navigated through anecdotes, statistics and artifacts to present the man that has left an undeniable mark on the NFL.

“Parcells has proven he can win with differently styled teams. I think one of the many marks he left on the NFL is his family tree, so to speak. Look at the records of today’s coaches that he worked with,” said DeVito.

Tracing Parcells’ football lineage revealed impressive relationships with disciples Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, and Tom Coughlin. Belichick has won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots; Payton captured the only title in New Orleans Saints’ history in 2009; and Coughlin’s Giants stunned the world in 2007 after toppling the undefeated Patriots for the Super Bowl title.

“Without a doubt, Parcells resurrected Sean Payton’s career, who was the offensive coordinator with the Giants. They just didn’t know what to do with him so Parcells recruited him in Dallas, which ultimately led to his recommendation to coach the Saints. Parcells’ ability to motivate and facilitate talent was amazing,” said DeVito.

Parcells’ eye for talent was not strictly limited to coaches. He developed players Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Jeff Hostetler, Chad Pennington and even Tony Romo, whose Dallas Cowboys are still in the running for an NFC East Division title as of press time. DeVito recounted some of his favorite polarizing moments in Parcells’ history.

“After winning titles with the Giants and going to the Dallas Cowboys, an arch rival of the Giants, many people were mixed about that. For me, the chance to coach a franchise as storied as the Cowboys was something nobody should pass up. When Parcells was there, he turned them into a formidable team and one thing he had was the ability to recognize talent and maximize it. Another moment was when he left the New York Jets coaching position to take a job with the hated Miami Dolphins, taking Jets quarterback Chad Pennington with him after the Jets signed Brett Favre.”

Pennington ended up beating his former team on the last game of the season and the 2008 Dolphins finished 11-5. Chad Pennington was recognized as 2008’s NFL “Comeback Player of The Year.” The Dolphins finished 1-15 the previous season.

“You couldn’t write a story better than that,” laughed DeVito.

DeVito added that Parcells had a hand in drafting Pennington, another branch to the coach’s NFL family tree.

“He does hold the record for completion percentage and I really think he was a class act,” DeVito said of Pennington.

DeVito remarked that the game has changed dramatically, but due to Parcells’ dedication, he would have no trouble earning victories in today’s pass-happy, media-saturated NFL.

“This is one of the many reasons why he was a compelling subject for me. He was consistent, which is something a lot of today’s teams lack. With Taylor on the Giants, Parcells changed the makeup of defenses and it’s a copycat league and people recognized his talent. You may have teams today with top-rated offenses, but their defenses are not so great. Look at the Patriots. Parcells is a proven winner and what I learned in my research for the book was how he pushed people’s buttons to get you to be your best. He was so fascinated by the game within the game and he knows how to speak to his players to make them succeed. But, as we all know, he could also be an outright jerk,” said DeVito.

Asked how he attempted to humanize Parcells in the book, DeVito focused heavily on the coach’s desire to help players improve their lives by conquering substance abuse.

“Just to educate himself and have a better understanding of what people were up against he actually checked himself into a rehabilitation facility. He got their families involved by helping them encourage his players by telling them how much he needed them,” said DeVito.

DeVito cited that Parcells pushed for mandatory drug testing in the league, worked tirelessly to assist legend Lawrence Taylor lead a healthy lifestyle, and how the Giants once had a reputation for drug abuse.

“A lot of people have overlooked that while assessing Parcells’ legacy. He was very disciplined but he looked out for players.”

In his book, DeVito cites Parcells as a turnaround artist, “a Rainmaker” and “No matter how much you loathed him or loved him, you had to admit it was fun watching him do it.”

“For me, the best Super Bowl was in 1990. Nobody favored the Giants to win but the road getting there was dramatic in itself; beating Joe Montana and the 49ers in the playoffs was thrilling.

The conclusion of the Super Bowl with the Bills’ Scott Norwood missing the field goal, wide right. They came up with a plan for the ages and it took all of Parcells’ know-how with a backup quarterback to win. That really stood out.”

The Giants had lost starter Phil Simms to injury earlier in the season and Jeff Hostetler rose to the challenge and finished the team’s dramatic road to victory. The Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-19 as time expired to win Super Bowl XXV.

Despite Parcells leaving the league in 2010, DeVito adamantly believes his legacy lives on.

“You can hear people quoting him all the time. I think the Giants coach Tom Coughlin resembles him. Coughlin is a no-nonsense guy who wants to win, period, but without all of the drama. I also think the Saints’ Sean Payton resembles the cerebral side of Parcells.”

DeVito works to apply some of Parcells’ work ethic into his own life, taking motivational cues from the legendary coach.

“I’m a motivated guy. I work for Sterling Publishing and own Hudson-Chatham Winery. How do you work to beat back the fatigue and reinvent yourself? That is something coaches deal with and something that I have learned.”

To reach reporter Jeff Alexander, call 518-828-1616, or e-mail jalexander@regiserstar.com.

Read more at:
http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2011/12/18/news//doc4eed403f6c173965734304.txt

SPORTS TALK NY INTERVIEWS CARLO DEVITO ABOUT BILL PARCELLS

SPORTSTALKNY is the sports talk show with a difference .Sportstalkny is now part of the TalkUSA.TV Network Each week we will feature special guests, as well as taking your phone calls on our SPORTSTALKNY hot line. Join us in the shows live chat room as well. SPORTSTALKNY runs live every Wednesday Night from 8:30 PM to 10 PM est on the TALKUSA.TV network and over USTREAM.TV.

The hosts of the show are Mark Rosenmans and A. J. Carter. Fantastic sports knowledge, and always up to date. They are one of my favorite shows to appear on.

Listen here at:

http://​www.theplayerspoint.com/​THEPLAYERSPOINT/​SPORTSTALKNY_PODCASTS/Entries/​2011/12/14_CARLO_DEVITO.html

ESPN Triangle's David Glenn Interviews Carlo DeVito

Some might call him the encyclopedia of ACC Sports; we just call him Dave G. The man is good, and you can’t deny that he has a loyal show following. David serves as host of 99.9FM The Fan weekdays from Noon-3pm but also is Editor/Writer for the ACC Area Sports Journal and ACCsports.com.

Growing up in Philly, David was exposed to sports at an early age. “Philly is a sports town to its core,” says David. On David Glenn's show, listeners are encouraged to share their opinions and speak out for or against other caller comments. Our favorite Philly resident has an extensive sports devotion including the obvious (college basketball, college football, NHL, NFL, MLB, college) and not so obvious (wrestling, only with mud).

Here's David Glenn's interview with Carlo DeVito about Parcells: A Biography....listen:

http://davidglennshow.blogspot.com/2011/12/carlo-devito.html

TAMPA BAY TRIBUNE LOVES PARCELLS : A BIOGRAPHY

Bob D’Angelo is a longtime member of the Florida sports media, having served as a reporter and copy editor for more than 30 years. His true sports passion, however, is the history of the various games, exhibited by his in-depth book reviews and hobby of collecting cards and other sports memorabilia. He blogs for TBO.com on both subjects, transferring his work for the Tampa Tribune to the realm of cyberspace.


Parcells presented in a sharper focus
Posted Dec 8, 2011 by Bob D'Angelo
Updated Dec 8, 2011 at 08:46 PM

Bill Parcells had a connection to Tampa long before he coached the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium. And long before he had two uneasy flirtations with the Bucs.

His college coach at Wichita State in 1962-63 was Marcelino “Chelo” Huerta, the longtime Hillsborough High School and University of Tampa football coach.

Tampa football fans knew that already. But it is one of the many nuggets of information meticulously presented by Carlo DeVito in “Parcells: A Biography” (Triumph Books, $24.95, hardback, 350 pages). DeVito scanned more than 4,000 original sources (including 2,000 interviews) and presents a deeper picture of the former NFL coach than we are accustomed to.

The Parcells persona is well-known: sarcastic and blunt, a guy who keeps his real thoughts close to the vest. A guy who likes to give the needle. Or, as DeVito quotes Parcells’ mother Ida, “He likes to stir the pot.”

This is an unauthorized biography; when DeVito approached Parcells’ agent about doing book, he was “met with silence.” That is actually liberating, because that allowed DeVito to check sources, read articles, do research and interview people who liked and disliked Parcells. Thanks to the agents’ silence, we get a more rounded picture of the Big Tuna. I should note that DeVito is a New York Giants fan, but will add that such loyalty did not impede his ability to write a balanced biography.

Parcells guided the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl titles, including a 20-19 thriller against the Buffalo Bills at Tampa Stadium in January 1991. Parcells had taken the Giants from the depths of mediocrity in the mid-1980s and had turned them into contenders.

“If football is not the most important thing in your life, he’ll weed you out,” DeVito quotes the Giants’ Jumbo Elliott as saying about Parcells.

Parcells left coaching after that Super Bowl, but rumors began to fly in late 1991 that he might take over as the Bucs coach. As former Bucs beat writer Nick Pugliese told me this week, covering this story caused “many sleepless nights.” As a copy editor on The Tampa Tribune’s sports desk, I recall having to call Nick on Christmas Eve 1991 to tell him about a new angle on the story that needed to be covered. Merry Christmas!

Parcells was all set to take the job, and in fact, Tribune headlines touted that it was a “done deal.” Unfortunately, Parcells changed his mind at 11 p.m. and called Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse, backing out of the deal. That action led Culverhouse to utter his famous “jilted at the altar” comment, which, in the mundane world of quotes by NFL owners and coaches, was a pretty snappy retort.

Bucs-Parcells is a fascinating story line, but here is where DeVito’s research betrays him a little bit. In relating this episode, he relies on material from the Orlando Sentinel. I am going to be provincial here and say sorry, the best information he could have gleaned would have been from Pugliese’s work at the Tribune and from the efforts of Rick Stroud, the St. Petersburg Times’ Bucs beat writer. Both writers battled hard to get the story, and as Pugliese told me “the Tribune and the Times would go back and forth on it every day” in terms of who had the story of the day.

A minor point in the book, but an interesting one to pounce on here locally.

DeVito also chronicles Parcells’ second flirtation with the Bucs in 2002 and tells a fascinating story.

DeVito labels Parcells as a “Rainmaker,” who takes over a team and then moves on.

After coaching the Giants, Parcells coached the New England Patriots, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys and was a consultant for the Miami Dolphins. In most cases, he left the franchises in better shape than they were when he arrived.

“Like all rainmakers, he eventually leaves,” DeVito writes.

DeVito tells a good story and gives the reader a sense of Parcells’ youth and the people who influenced him, including his father, Charles “Chubby” Parcells, and his coach as a youth, Mickey Corcoran. He details Parcells’ years as an assistant at Wichita State, Army, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, and his tough season as head coach at Air Force (“It took me only three months to know I had made a mistake,” Parcells said.).

Parcells eventually will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was defensive-minded, switching the Giants from a 4-3 to a 3-4 alignment. With assistants like Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel, Parcells would employ a fast, hard-hitting defense.

On offense, Parcells loved nothing better than a grinding offense. Not pretty to watch, but that kind of offense ate up huge chunks of time and proved to be a decisive factor in Super Bowl XXV (one long drive took 9:29 to complete).

DeVito puts Parcells’ career in perspective and gives the reader a richer, fuller look at one of the NFL’s most dominating personalities — and coach.


READ MORE AT:
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/parcells-presented-in-a-sharper-focus/

BLEACHER REPORTS LOVES PARCELLS: A BIOGRAPHY

New Parcells Biography Uncans "Big Tuna"
By Jerry Milani
(Featured Columnist) on December 12, 2011

In his more than three decades coaching in the pros (and for much of the preceding 15 years or so in the college ranks), Bill Parcells pretty much had his way. So what would a full biography be like if it were done without his cooperation?

As it turns out, surprisingly thorough, and quite complimentary.

In his new book, Parcells: A Biography, author Carlo DeVito—whose roster of biographies includes the likes of D. Wayne Lukas, Wellington Mara, Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto—looks past the dominant personality of the football coach known (mostly) affectionately as the "Big Tuna," and explores some areas of his life heretofore unpublished.

DeVito recently spoke with Bleacher Report about Parcells (Triumph Books, 384 pps.).



B/R: How cooperative was Parcells about the biography?

CD: He was not cooperative at all (laughs)! That's both good and bad. He didn't cooperate, but I was able to speak to many people from throughout his life, from Mickey Corcoran (Parcells' high school coach), all the way to Giants and Patriots. I did a lot of interviews with his college players. A lot of people forget how long he spent in the college ranks. They gave me a treasure trove of information.



BR: Parcells is a complex guy. What is the biggest thing that fans don't know that they'll learn about him?

CD: For me, it's about his family. He kept his private life during his public years very private. This is, from a number of different resources, the most complete picture of his life that anyone has every seen. It starts off in Hackensack (N.J.), talks about his father, who was an All-American at Georgetown where he held school and NCAA records for many years. It really gets into the dynamic between Parcells and his two brothers, between father and sons, all of whom played Division I football.


B/R: How did this dynamic work?

CD: Coach Corcoran told me that Bill was the best athlete of all of them. He led the state in scoring his senior year, was drafted by Detroit and offered twice by the Philadelphia Phillies as a pitcher, and still considered one of the best pitchers in his era. It's a very driven family. The "least" successful brother is Doug, and he has one of the largest recreational parks in New Jersey named for him. Don, the middle brother, was the president of First Fidelity Bank, went to West Point, played in the Army-Navy game against Roger Staubach three times. His father was a very brilliant man, successful, single minded, business focused, so you can see how strong an influence this was on Parcells.


B/R: So he's a typical "Jersey Guy," then?

CD: I always thought that "Jersey Guy" thing was hokey, but when you start to put the family life together with his personal background, no matter how far any of the brothers traveled, they never left Bergen County, where they drew their personality from, as home.



B/R: What is it about him that makes him such a good motivator?

CD: One thing I was fascinated by, talking to people and hearing their stories, a lot of times people thought he was just a big gasbag of hot air, but in reality, he was a tremendous motivator. He used any trick he could, and in many cases I don't think they were really tricks. Some were very heartfelt. There were times when he would call in a player's family and ask what he could do to motivate a guy, individually. He helped men with drug problems—once he found out someone was using drugs, he tried to work with him, he said, "Here's the deal, I'll call you mother. You need to deal with this now or it will ruin your life." They didn't want that.



B/R: But of course there were some kicks in the butt, too...

CD: Of course. He'd go up to [linebacker] Harry Carson, for example, and say, "[lineman Jim] Burt have been having a terrible practice, you've got to get on him." He'd say that right in front of Burt. Carson was definitely one of his favorites, but you had to be tough to be a Parcells favorite, because he would pound on you the most. Guys like Taylor, Burt, [Patriots QB Drew] Bledsoe, [Giants QB Phil] Simms, [Dolphins linebacker Bryan] Cox, if he was mad he'd take it out on them, knowing that he had their back and they could take it for the team. It was a dual edged sword to be a favorite.


B/R: That sounds like some other coaches in his lineage...

CD: For sure. Mickey Corcoran did the same. Corcoran had been a player for Vince Lombardi. So there's a direct linkage to Lombardi, and many of the methods are similar.


B/R: Is Parcells the best coach of his generation?

CD: That's a tough call. He achieved things that no one else has: He took three different teams to Conference Championship games, and a team from each conference to the Super Bowl. These events certainly put him in a category where few have gone. But what gets lost in this is what he did as an innovator on the defensive side. He came up with different schemes to use this new weapon—Lawrence Taylor—in a way nobody had before. The NFL is a league where imitation is everything, and they saw what Parcells was doing with Taylor, and teams copied these defensive schemes. Best? I'm not sure. But he's certainly one of the most influential of his era. He'd be successful in any year.

READ MORE AT:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/980129-new-parcells-biography-uncans-big-tuna

BIG LEAD SPORTS LIKES PARCELLS: A BIOGRAPHY

As NFL Playoffs Loom, Parcells Presence Still Felt In New York, Dallas, New England
BigLeadSports : Features, Books, NFL BigLeadSports
December 23rd. 2011, 5:23pm

With the New York Giants and New York Jets playing each other today at MetLife Stadium in a battle for playoff positions, one man’s name is on the mind of many fans: Bill Parcells.

Parcells was head coach of the Giants from 1983-1990, guiding them to victory in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV (“wide right”). And from 1997-99 he was head coach of the Jets, leading them to a record of 37-19.

Ironically, he also was head coach of the two teams regarded as the biggest foes of the Giants and Jets: the Dallas Cowboys (2003-06) and New England Patriots (1993-96), respectively.

He also was head coach of the Miami Dolphins (2003-06) and then evp-football operations (2008-10).

Parcells impact is still being felt. Among the coaches he employed on his staffs are current head coaches Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennell; and recently fired head coaches Tony Sparano and Todd Haley.

Given the opportunity, would Parcells, aka “Big Tuna” and currently an analyst for ESPN, return to the head coaching ranks? Is he still driven enough to spend the 24/7/365 time needed to succeed in the NFL?

Carlo DeVito may have some of those answers. His new book, Parcells (Triumph), takes fans through the career of the Hall of Fame head coach, from high school through a nomadic college career to the pinnacle of the NFL. Big Lead Sports spoke with DeVito, whose other books include bios on Yogi Berra, Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto and Wellington Mara and the Mara family.

Big Lead Sports: Do you think Parcells would ever coach again and, if so, where?

Carlo DeVito: I don’t think he’d coach again. I think if someone offered him another Miami-type situation again, he might consider it. He likes mentoring. Like [Vince] Lombardi, with Parcells, it’s always been about winning football games, yes, but about coaching young men too. I think if one of this year’s floundering organizations offered him a head of football operations job, he would seriously consider it. Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Miami are all in trouble right now. I don’t think he’d go back to Miami, obviously, but I wonder if he would consider the other two. Especially Kansas City, since some of his guys are already there.

BLS: Teams seem to flounder after he leaves. Why is that?

CD: I think it’s a number of things. Over all, I think he’s hard to replace. His drive, his motivation techniques, his demands for intensity and focus. Certainly when he’s there, things usually go on an upside. I think a lot of football decisions get made that he has nothing to do with once he’s gone. Coaching philosophies change. Personnel changes almost always happen. When he was with the Jets he had one of the best drafts anyone ever had, drafting a number of pro bowl players, and including Chad Pennington. After he left the Jets, many of those players were gone. That’s not his fault. The Jets in the final insult released Pennington whom he picked up while he was with the Dolphins, and beat the Jets with in the final game of that season with their own cast off of his drafting. So, personally, I think he’s hard to replace.

BLS: What is his football legacy?

CD: If football isn’t your life, he will weed you out. That was the mantra over and over from the players and coaches. He was very honest when he said that he had a very single, narrow focus in his life (possibly to his own detriment), but that kind of focus and dedication are what a whole legion of players, coaches, and executives bring forward with them. Parcells quotes abound in war rooms, coaches meetings, and coach/player conversations. “You are what your record says you are” “It’s always darkest before it goes pitchblack” lots of sayings. But his focus is what peopel remember him most for. His work ethic. His desire to out work the opponent both physically and mentally.

BLS: What did you uncover about his relationships with players that fans might not know?

CD: One thing is that Parcells has met with more families than people really know. He very much took his relationships with his players seriously. There was one time when he had a player who had a drug habit, and he basically said to this young man, that the situation was beyond football, that they were in a fight for his very life, and Parcells called the player’s mother, who did not know about her son’s problem, which was devastating to the player, but it was what he needed to confront his demons. Other times he would call on a family to help him encourage or coach up a player. He relied heavily on those relationships, trying to get the very best out of player by understanding them as well as he could.

BLS: Did players respect him despite – or maybe because of – his hard approach?

CD: Many players, no matter how rough he was on them, came to respect him later on in lfe. Jim Burt was the best example. He beat Burt mentally while he was ith the Giants. And he eventually released Burt. Burt signed on with the 49ers and played several more years. Burt was bitter at first, but eventually became a big fan of Parcells, because he instilled a set of values in Burt that he later came to treasure. Burt has since been a big and personal fan of Parcells. That kind of story has played itself out in Parcells life many times. Terry Glenn. Drew Bledsoe. The list goes on.

BLS: What did you find out about Parcells’ life away from the football field that might surprise people?

CD: What I was most surprised was by his family history, which I always find fascinating. His father, Chubby Parcells, was perhaps the best athlete ever to come out of Hackensack, NJ. He was a star football player at Georgetown. He held several NCAA football records for years. Became an FBI agent, and then was a legal counsel for Uniroyal for decades. Smart, bright, well liked. He knew Vince Lombardi as a neighbor. He had three sons. Don was 15 months younger than Bill, who was the oldest. Doug was the youngest. All three sons played Division I football. All three were very successful. The least financially successful, Doug, is a legend in North Jersey, and has one of the largest recreational parks in the state named after him. Don (who was the best football player) was running back at West Point, played in the Army-Navy game against Roger Staubach (his picture appeared in papers across the country, like his father), and became the president of First Fidelity Bank, which was among the nation’s largest banks. He literally made millions, before he diead of brain cancer.

BLS: How important was this union with his brothers and father?

CD: The four men had a single-minded focus that allowed them to succeed in almost any arena. His father bred in all of them a mental toughness and demanded excellence in all aspects of their lives. That family dynamic is very important in Parcells personal make-up. Many of his most memorable sayings came from his father. These four men, no matter where they travelled, never left Bergen County, NJ.

BLS: When you look at the people about whom you have written, what is the trait they all have that makes them such good topics?

CD: I love people who overcome all obstacles, no matter their severity. The Maras made money their first year with the Giants, and then lost money the next seven years. And with every challenge to the NFL by a rival league, they always bore the heaviest blow. And still they perservered. The Giants eventually were the first NFL franchise valued over $1 million. Both Yogi and Rizzuto were both misfits – way too small by professional sports standards, neither of whom finished high school, who were not terribly well spoken, who both went on to defy the odds, who by all odds, accomplished more than many other men in that sport – both Hall of Famers, both ended up their lives incredibly wealthy by good investments after baseball, and both had solid and successful careers after their playing days were over – (Yogi, coaching; Scooter, broadcasting).

BLS: How does your view of Parcells fit in with this?

CD: With Parcells, he spent 15 years gypsying around college football before he finally got his chance to coach professionally. He almost gave up on his dream, taking a year off to sell commercial real estate (at which he was successful), and over coming one of the worst seasons in Giants franchise history, only to go on to be one of the most successful coaches in NFL history. How can you not like that?

PHOTOS: Anthony J Causi/Icon SMI; ESPN

READ MORE AT:
http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/12/23/parcells-presence-being-felt-as-playoffs-loom/

Carlo DeVito Speaks With Dr. Alvin Augustus Jones

A great time discussing the book with Dr. Alvin Augustus Jones http://www.dralvin.com/ on WHFS-AM 1580 CBS Radio-Washington, D.C.

Dr. Alvin Augustus Jones a successful global entrepreneur. He has operated The Paradise Radio Network,-WCBQ-AM 1340, WHNC-AM 890, The Dream Television Network, and has worked for NBC, ABC, UPN, Clear Channel, Public Television, Washington Post, Daily Mail-London, AP and other major media entities. He has been trained by America’s best universities like Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, Cornell and American Universities. This award winning producer and journalist’s speaking engagements take him throughout America, Europe and Africa. He has authored Royalty Without A Future, and WealthShift.

Listen to the Parcells: A Biography interview with the always fascinating Dr. Alvin.

Listen to the interview here....
www.dralvinjones.com/content/02 Carlo DeVito.wma

Here's his website:
http://www.dralvinjones.com/

Thanks Dr. Alvin!

Carlo DeVito to Appear on The Robert Wuhl Show

LIVE Telephone Radio Interview

Author Carlo DeVito will be interviewed at 5:35 PM ET, on the Westwood One Radio Networks on “The Robert Wuhl Show” by Robert Wuhl.

Wuhl was born in Union, New Jersey to a Jewish family, including a father who worked as a produce distributor.[1] After attending Union High School, Wuhl headed to the University of Houston, where he was active in the drama department and the Epsilon-Omicron Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.

After several years of stand-up comedy, Wuhl had roles in movies including Batman with Michael Keaton, Bull Durham with Kevin Costner, Cobb with Tommy Lee Jones, Mistress with Robert DeNiro and Good Morning, Vietnam with Robin Williams. His first role in movies was a starring role in the 1980 comedy The Hollywood Knights along with other fledgling actors Tony Danza, Michelle Pfeiffer and Fran Drescher. He wrote two of the six episodes for the TV series Police Squad! in 1982, and did an audio commentary for its release on DVD in 2006. He also had a small role in the 1983 Film, Flashdance.

Wuhl was in the beginning of the music video to Madonna's 1985 hit "Material Girl."

In 1992, he appeared in The Bodyguard as host of the Oscars. In reality he won two Emmy Awards for co-writing the Academy Awards in 1990 & 1991 with Billy Crystal.

From 1996-2002 he wrote and starred in the HBO series Arli$$ as the title character, an agent for high-profile athletes. From 2000-2001, he was a frequent panelist on the ESPN game show 2 Minute Drill, often quizzing the contestants on sports-related movies. Wuhl was a player in the Game Show Network's Poker Royale series, a competition between pros and comedians. In 2006, he starred on HBO in a one-man-show, Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl, where he taught a history class to show how history is created and propagated in a similar fashion to pop culture. A second chapter entitled Assume the Position 201 with Mr. Wuhl aired on HBO in July 2007. Wuhl is currently developing a stage adaptation of "Assume the Position" at Ars Nova in New York City.

He also hosts a sports, sports business and entertainment daily talk radio show for Westwood One which started January 2011 and is available online at robertwuhlshow.com.

Author Carlo DeVito Appears with Chris Villani on Book Club Show on 1210 WWZN

Author Carlo DeVito will be appearing on Revolution Boston, AM 1210, WWZN-AM, Quincy, MA. He will appear on “Book Club Show” with host Chris Villani.



Very exciting stuff!

Carlo DeVito LIVE on The Aaron Solomon Show

LIVE Telephone Radio Interview at 10:30 AM ET on Station: 102.5 The Game, WPRT-FM

Aaron was a great host. Had a wonderful time!

Carlo DeVito LIVE on The Aaron Solomon Show WPRT (TN)

Author Carlo DeVito will be interviewed on "The Aaron Solomon Show: by Aaron Solomon and produced by Crazy Charlie. The show is aired on 102.5 The Game, WPRT-FM in Tenneesse.

Here's Aaron's facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/TheAaronSolomonShow?sk=wall#!/TheAaronSolomonShow?sk=wall

Here's the website of the station:
http://1025thegame.com/index.php

Very exciting stuff!

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Mentions Parcells: A Biography

Thanks to Bob Matthews in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

•The new biography Parcells, by Carlo DeVito, includes some interesting items on the New York Giants' 20-19 upset victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

Wrote DeVito, "It is without a doubt the most incredible game plan ever devised in the history of the Super Bowl.


"Parcells brilliance was that he would use his offense to his advantage. The Giants offense was a slow, churning, smashmouth running game. Parcells concept was to 'shorten' the game."

The Giants were prepared to let Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas roll up yards on the ground and thus limit quick-strike opportunities for Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.

Parcells had nicknamed 38-year-old defensive coordinator Bill Belichick "Doom" because of his constantly sour demeanor: "His glass was usually half-empty."

Super Bowl historian William Bendetson wrote of Parcells the motivator: "He told them (the Giants players) that Thurman Thomas fit himself for a Super Bowl ring four days before the game. Players also witnessed first hand the Bills violating curfew by partying throughout the week."

Parcells told his players when practice week began, "You guys are going to read a lot of things from my mouth this week in the press. Don't believe a word. I'm going to blow so much smoke up Buffalo's skirts all week. Let 'em start believing how good they are."

Parcells asked Lawrence Taylor to start a fight with teammate Jumbo Elliott during practice to fire up the team. He did and it worked. Parcells told Elliott he used the ploy to help get Elliott ready to face Buffalo star pass rusher Bruce Smith.

At halftime, down 12-10, Parcells told his team that "the first drive of the third quarter" was the key to the game. The Giants responded with a 9:29 drive for an Ottis Anderson TD and a 17-12 lead.

After the 20-19 victory, Parcells said, "Power football wins games. It's not always the fanciest way, but it can win games. ... I realized a long time ago that God was playing in some of those games. He was on our side today. We played as well as we could. If we played tomorrow, they would probably win 20-19."

Read the who article at:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20111118/SPORTS0101/111180343/Soccer-Sam-wanted-Branko-Segota

WKNY Kingston, NY Interviews Carlo DeVito About Parcells

Warren Lawrence will interview Carlo DeVito about his new book Parcells: A Biography on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 at 7:35 am on WKNY 1490 AM.

To listen in via internet go here to:
http://tunein.com/radio/WKNY-1490-s30321/

Parcells on LaRussa's Retirement

Bill Parcells on Good Friend Tony La Russa: “Baseball has lost one of the great guys to ever manage in the game.”
November 2, 2011 – 9:15 am by Michael Bean
Sports Radio Interviews

The last time we heard from Bill Parcells here on SportsRadioInterviews, he was sharing stories and reminiscing about the late Al Davis, a man who meant a great deal to Parcells both personally and professionally over the course of a nearly half-century long relationship. Now we’re going to check in with the Hall of Fame coach to hear what he has to say about Tony La Russa, another close friend of his who, of course, announced his retirement this week after guiding the St. Louis Cardinals to their 11th World Series win in franchise history.

Parcells joined ESPN 101 in St. Louis to talk about baseball losing a great manager like La Russa to retirement, when he first met La Russa, going to Cardinals spring training for a number of years now since they train where he lives in Jupiter, Florida, whether he was surprised by the timing of La Russa’s decision, if he thinks it’s harder or easier to retire and walk away when on top like La Russa did, and how tough it will be to replace a manager like La Russa in St. Louis despite the Cardinals being such a well run organization.

On baseball losing a great manager like La Russa to retirement:

“Well, I’ll tell you, baseball has lost one of the great guys to ever manage in the game. He was a terrific manager. As I said the other day about him, I was privileged to be on the fringes of the inner sanctum for seven or eight springs there with the Cardinals, and you get to talk to him about strategy, and you hear the interaction with the coaches and him talk about roster composition and things of that nature. So I was really able to get a laymen’s insight into how baseball operations should be run.”

When did he first meet La Russa?

“I think the first time I ever met him was in Yankees Stadium. I was watching a game there, and the A’s were playing the Yankees. And he came across the field and I was in the Yankee dugout obviously when I was coaching the Giants. And he introduced himself, we talked a little bit, and then we hadn’t talked for awhile. And then when St. Louis opened their spring training in Jupiter, Florida, that’s where I reside, and I would go to their practices. Actually I would go every day almost. So not only would I see the spring training games, I would see their practices and coaches and players pretty much on a daily basis. And I have some good friends in the organization — the trainer is a good friend of mine, and some of the coaches on the staff I’ve become friendly with. So it was a great experience for me to be around a guy like Tony who certainly epitomizes what a baseball coach should be.”

Was he surprised that La Russa decided to retire at this point in time:

“You know, having retired a few times myself, I certainly…33 years in that business, or in the business I was in, can be a grind. I mean this is a grind. It’s not just game to game, or inning to inning, it was pitch to pitch. And that’s the way he managed — pitch to pitch. There’s just so much tread on those tires mentally, and after awhile, you begin to know that it’s time. And we all have to get off the train. Either we get off on our own volition or they ask us to get off. He’s earned the right to make his own decisions as to his future and what he wants to do. But I will say this: baseball is losing one of the great contributors to the game.”

Read more at:
http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2011/11/02/bill-parcells-on-good-friend-tony-la-russa-baseball-has-lost-one-of-the-great-guys-to-ever-manage-in-the-game/

Innocuous Urinal Chat with Bill Parcells

My Innocuous Urinal Chat with Bill Parcells
By Andrew Davenport, Yahoo! Contributor NetworkNov 2, 3:12 pm EDT

When you're an aspiring NFL scout, the Senior Bowl—hosted annually in Mobile, AL—is your one-in-a-million shot to make an impression with an NFL personnel executive. Traditionally, it's the one event that is widely attended by entry level scouts and general managers alike; teams want as many eyes in attendance as possible.

What separates the Senior Bowl from other preliminary NFL Draft events (such as the Scouting Combine) is the fact that it is open to the public—onlookers generally a mixture of NFL personnel, fans, and (yours truly) aspiring scouts. Throughout the week of practices, you will generally mix and mingle—or "casually" brush shoulders—with faces that you ordinarily are accustomed to only seeing on TV.

During my attendance of one of the Senior Bowl practices in January 2010, I had an awkward, albeit unforgettable, trip to the men's room that for the first time in my life left me starstruck. Typically the two sides (North and South) practice at separate times, and those in attendance are left with some time to pass between practice sessions. Often this time period is used to eat, exchange opinions, and take care of biological necessities. For me, it happened to be the latter on this day.

I walked into a surprisingly empty men's room and placed my binder full of scouting notes on the sink next to the urinal. I stood tall with my eyes closed as I brainstormed my thoughts on some of the prospects—that's when it happened. The door swung open and an older, disturbingly large, spry man walked into the restroom and placed himself at the adjacent urinal. It was NFL legend Bill Parcells.

"Never take a break, do you?" he said to me as the end of the week approached. "No sir," I replied.

"The Graham kid, where would you take him?" he asked in reference to then University of Miami tight end prospect Jimmy Graham(notes).

The entire week you spend at the Senior Bowl, and all the hours of preparation are for exactly moments like this. You wait for someone with any type of authority or pull within an organization to ask you a question. I knew everything about Jimmy Graham; his height, weight, birthday, 40 time coming out of high school, basketball history, average daily protein intake, and his then rocky relationship with his biological mother.

On this day though, I kept my answer brief.

"No later than 64, offenses are spreading out and teams need a guy like him to play the open seam," I said with profound clarity.

"An answer like that will get you unemployed in this league," he fired back as he moved to the sink to wash his hands.

I was shell shocked. For all the knowledge I had, I could offer no rebuttal. Was my answer too brief? Was he not high on Graham? My opportunity came and passed and I failed my test miserably, so all I could do was force a smile in response. And then came the wisdom.

"You never grade a developmental tight end in the second round. The production ceiling for that position is low; so if it works out, you did your job. If he fails, you're the guy that used a second round pick on a tight end. That grade will never get you promoted," he said as he left the restroom and offered no opportunity for a response.

For him, it was a casual conversation with a young guy that he probably thought very little of. For me, it was a rude, but remarkably enlightening, awakening into the life of an NFL personnel man—a life that I desperately wanted.

Parcells by Carlo DeVito: The SportsJabber.net Interview

Big Tuna Revealed: An SJ-Exclusive Interview with Parcells Biographer, Carlo DeVito
By Trey Hill
SJ Contributing Author, Blogger, Jabberhead

A couple weeks ago the wonderful people here at Sports Jabber asked me if I would be interested in conducting another interview for the website and then writing another story from what I learned. I imagine it took me about 2 seconds before I replied that of course I was willing to take on another special project for the people that have been so good to me. So I did my research and tried to think of a handful of questions that I thought would both give all of us an idea of just who Carlo DeVito is and also let us know just a little bit about his upcoming book, "Parcells: A Biography".

What I’ve found though in trying to figure out how exactly I should go about writing this story to help promote the book is that while I could do the story the same way that I did with the movie "Chasing 3000", that would be a great disservice to Carlo DeVito. In answering my questions, he took the time to give long, detailed answers and in doing so, I got the exact information that I was hoping to learn.

DeVito is an accomplished writer, but rather than sticking with just one broad topic (whether it be sports, politics, or science fiction), he writes about the things that really grab his attention. When someone really cares about what they are writing about, it always shows through in the details and as you’ll read below, DeVito definitely took the time to get all the details that were out there. This biography about Parcells is going to be the most in-depth one ever done on the Big Tuna and it’s going to be an excellent read. But rather than take my word for it, read the entire interview yourself word for word. And when you do, you’ll agree that DeVito is an excellent writer with a lot of drive to make sure this is a top notch biography about a legendary football icon.


Trey/SJ: While it seems from what I've found you like to write about sports figures, you also seem to have quite a few books that are far from being classified as that. What motivates you to write those books and which style would you say you're more comfortable with?

Devito: I like writing about different things. Lately, I am writing more about wine and sports than anything else. Being a trade book editor, there are a lot of things which draw my eye, but my favorite things to write are historical sports and biography. I find writing about Wayne Lukas, the Maras, Yogi, Scooter, or Parcells inspiring. They are all human beings - they have their foibles, their failures, their inadequacies - but they also have drive, determination, and dedication. I find in the end that those qualities are in fact not just fun to write about, but also personal intriguing. And I love the slightly more historical aspects. I really love delving into old newspaper archives, or getting on chat boards and asking about the old neighborhood, and getting into who the people are and where they come from. History isn't just statistics, one needs to find the era from which someone comes from to even begin to understand them. So many things go into seeing what makes a person, and I love finding those small things.


Trey/SJ: What made you decide you wanted to write a biography about Bill Parcells and what would you say makes this one unique to the other books about him out there?

Devito: Firstly I am a Giants fan. Always have been. And he had such an incredible aura about him - his whole "Jersey guy" thing. he felt like he would have been in the stands with us, if he wasn't the coach. But seeing how successful he was, in so many places, made him a very intriguing target. Once you start to look further, there's a lot more there, there. One of the things about my book that I think is different from all the others, is that, firstly, it's a more complete and definitive book than any other out there.

Secondly, I have a lot more about his personal life in there. His father, Chubby, was a standout football player at Georgetown (still holds records there for football - held some NCAA records for a while as well), he worked for the FBI and Uniroyal (where he was a top executive). he fathered three boys - al of whom are incredibly accomplished - Bill, Donald (highly noted football player at WestPoint; decorated Vietnam vet; President First Fidelity) and the youngest, Doug Parcells (there's a whole sports complex named for him in north Jersey). These four men all grew up in the same 20-25 mile radius, and really never left (even though they traveled far and wide).

Read the whole interview at:
http://sportsjabber.net/forums/sjforums/showthread.php?p=408778

Davis once talked to Parcells about becoming Raiders coach

Davis once talked to Parcells about becoming Raiders coach
By vtafur@sfchronicle.com (Vittorio Tafur)
San Francisco Chronicle
October 12, 2011

Super-Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells talked about the late Al Davis on ESPN Radio on Tuesday, and here are the highlights:

Whether Parcells ever came close to being the Raiders coach:

“You know, one time he inquired about that. And I said ‘you know Coach, that might be the end of a real nice friendship.’ I said ‘we’d be like Grumpy Old Men, Water Matthau and Jack Lemmon.’ He started laughing, so I said ‘why don’t we pass on that right now.’ And he said ‘okay.’ And we did.”

On the stories of how he and Davis used to sit next to each other in the same spot at each year’s Scouting Combine:

“That’s absolutely correct. Ron Wolf and myself, we would sit right at the start of the 40-yard dash. And we could see visually, we were very close to the players, so you got a good look at their physical make up, the size of their hands, you know, whether they were nervous or not, you got a little idea about their quickness as they burst off the line in the 40-yard sprint. Year after year, that’s exactly right, we would sit there all day long. And coincidentally, we would talk about football players and baseball in New York City and all sorts of things. He was just a great guy and also a very important adviser to me at critical times in my coaching career.”

How Davis’ mantra of personal accountability was something he took with him throughout his Hall of Fame coaching career:

“You know, there was a time early in my career when job security was certainly in question, and I think he was the one who got me really back on track in terms of being able to give me a general manager’s point of view as well as an owner’s point of view. And also he was very adamant about me about just doing your job — ‘Just do the job that they hired you to do, and don’t be distracted by other things around you that you have no control over.’ And you know, it kind of put me back on track — and just in the nick of time by the way — and it was something that I tried to pass forward to all the guys I worked with. Just do your job — players and coaches — and quit worrying about what other people are doing. Just get yours done. And if you’ve got a good team concept, eventually it will come together.”


Read more at:
http://blog.sfgate.com/raiders/2011/10/12/davis-once-talked-to-parcells-about-becoming-raiders-coach/

Parcells Nominated for NFL Hall of Fame

Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells among candidates for Pro Football Hall of Fame
Keyshawn Johnson and Tiki Barber are some of the players eligible for the first time. Voting will take place the day before the Super Bowl in February.

Bill Parcells walks off the field following a preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks in 2006. The former NFL coach is a candidate for the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Dustin Snipes / U.S. Presswire / August 13, 2006
September 28, 2011, 5:10 p.m.
LA Times

Retired coaches Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer are among the modern-era candidates for the 2012 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Cowher is eligible for the first time, as are players Keyshawn Johnson, Tiki Barber, Drew Bledsoe, Stephen Davis, Rod Smith, Will Shields, Troy Vincent and Mike Vanderjagt.

Parcells and Schottenheimer previously were eligible under different requirements.

In 2008, the Hall of Fame made it mandatory for coaches, like players, to be retired five consecutive seasons. Before that, coaches were eligible immediately upon retirement, allowing Parcells to be a nominee in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and Schottenheimer in 2000. This is their first year of eligibility under the new provision.

Altogether, 103 men are eligible; voting will take place in February the day before the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. From the original list of nominees, the selection committee will choose 25 semifinalists in November. That group of semifinalists will be further reduced by a mail ballot to 15 modern-era finalists and announced in early January.

The final list of candidates also will include two senior nominees: former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jack Butler and former Detroit Lions guard Dick Stanfel.

Between four and seven enshrinees will be announced Feb. 4, and the class will be inducted in August.

Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-report-20110929,0,4887439.story

Bill Parcells Nominated for NJ Hall of Fame

The former NFL coach grew up in Hasbrouck Heights
By Eamon Harbord
October 13, 2011
Hasbrouck Heights Patch.com

The New Jersey Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for its 2012 class: 50 accomplished historical figures, artists, entertainers and innovators, all with ties to the Garden State.

Among this year's nominees is River Dell alumni Bill Parcells, who coached the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, in the Sports category. Parcells graduated in 1959 as a three-sport athlete (football, basketball and baseball) and is honored as a member of the River Dell Athletic Hall of Fame.

The "Big Tuna" was born in Englewood, but grew up in Hasbrouck Heights. His family later moved north to Oradell just before the start of Parcells' sophomore year. As a Golden Hawk, the 6'2" Parcells was a star quarterback, pitcher, and center while wearing black and gold. After graduating from the University of Wichita with a degree in physical education, Parcells' started his 46 year coaching career at Hastings in 1964 and by 1979 had moved on to the NY Giants.

He won two Super Bowl rings with the Giants, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. Parcells' led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI but lost to the Green Bay Packers and then the NY Jets to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. He finished his coaching career with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006.

Additional nominees are former Vice President Aaron Burr, former President Grover Cleveland and early women's rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton in the historical category.

Salsa singer Celia Cruz, "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve and jazz trumpet great Dizzy Gillespie are among the nominees in Arts & Entertainment.

The Enterprise category includes chef Alice Waters, electronic communications inventor David Sarnoff and newspaper publisher Samuel I. Newhouse.

The Sports category also includes Wellington Mara, who owned the Giants, and broadcasting icon Dick Vitale.

Alexander Calder, the artist who invented the mobile, writer Joyce Carol Oates and cartoonist Charles Addams, who inspired The Addams Family, are included in the General category.

Voters have till January to go online to choose their favorites from five categories. The web address is www.NJHallofFame.org.

The nominees are for the hall's fifth class. It's the most nominees ever, in part because residents have suggested "so many remarkable individuals over the past 12 months," said John O'Brien, who chairs the group's voting committee.

The top vote-getter in each category will be inducted into the hall in June. The top runners-up will also be chosen for induction, said Don Jay Smith, spokesman for the hall.

The hall celebrates New Jersey history by honoring its many talented residents and former residents


Read more at:
http://hasbrouckheights.patch.com/articles/bill-parcells-nominated-for-nj-hall-of-fame-1161cc10

PARCELLLS: A BIOGRPAHY

Brash, outspoken, and a master of pushing psychological buttons with his players,
organizational personnel and the press, Bill Parcells is a magnet for attention. He is known for his all-consuming demand for perfection and insistence on a single-minded focus from his coaches and players. In the history of the NFL, no coach has turned around more franchises than Parcells.

In Parcells: A Biography, the exhaustive research of sports biographer Carlo
DeVito sheds new light on a football coaching legend, exposing the two-time Super
Bowl winning coach’s moxie and lifelong dedication to football. DeVito goes
in-depth and follows Parcells beginning with his 15-year collegiate coaching career,
which is where he met many of the men who later filled out his coaching staffs.
Prior to his NFL career, Parcells did stints at Wichita State, Army, Florida State,
Vanderbilt, Texas Tech and the Air Force Academy.

DeVito sheds light on Parcell’s greatest moment and accomplishments, including:

• New insights on some of his most famous relationships with the sport's
biggest names
• His complicated and often volatile interactions with his players
• How Parcells made the transition from player to coach in his younger years
• His Super Bowl triumphs in 1986 and 1990 with the New York Giants
• Manning the helm with the Jets and Patriots and turning both
franchises around
• The frustration of not winning a playoff game in Dallas in four years.
• Coaching stars such as Lawrence Taylor, Tony Romo, Drew Bledsoe
and Vinny Testaverde

DeVito leaves no stone unturned in this enlightening and comprehensive
biography, revealing stories from both on and off the field that have never
before been told. Parcells: A Biography digs deep into Parcells' past and
presents an entertaining and unforgettable look at a two-time Super Bowl
champion coach whose motto is: "You are what your record says you are."

About the author:
Carlo DeVito is a writer and publishing executive. He is the author of
Wellington: The Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York; Yogi: The Life and
Times of an American Original; as well as biographies on Phil Rizzuto and D.
Wayne Lukas. He and his wife, Dominique, and their two sons live on their
farm, the Hudson-Chatham Winery, in Ghent, New York.