Parcells Already Has Jets Wondering ‘Who’s Next?’

Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells love to dish out shock treatment to young teams. Parcells tried it this week when he cut defensive end Marvin Washington, the New York Jets’ longest-tenured player and still a presence on a defensive line that’s hardly overstocked with superstars.

“That’s the way things are today,” said Parcells, who also cleared $1 million of cap room on a team that has been strapped by the $84 million committed last season to free agents Neil O’Donnell, Jumbo Elliott, David Williams and Jeff Graham.

Last year, Johnson handled a more talented Miami team the same way, cutting players like Eric Green and Keith Byars and trading away other fixtures such as Terry Kirby and Pete Stoyanovich.

But Parcells has an advantage that Johnson doesn’t: Even the wildest Jets fan doesn’t expect much more than six wins this season.

Regardless, Parcells seems to be having a marked impact on his new team.

“I know he means it when he says that fumblers have no place on his team,” said Adrian Murrell, who ran for 1,249 yards last season.”If I fumble, I don’t play.”

Racial sensitivity

New York Giants’ Jason Sehorn is one of the league’s better cornerbacks.

Last season, he had five interceptions, five forced fumbles and three sacks. He’s fast enough to have participated in the NFL’s Fastest Man contest and, at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, big enough to take on the most physical receivers.

He’s also white, the only starting white cornerback in the NFL and the first since Scott Case of the Falcons in the late ‘80s.

That lack of white cornerbacks may well be the kind of racial stereotyping that still keeps black quarterbacks to a minimum.

“It’s not only the NFL, it’s at the high school level and even earlier,” says Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf. “Kids believe that to play cornerback or, to a lesser extent, wide receiver, you have to be black.”

It’s the reverse of what’s done with quarterbacks - black kids are often steered away from the position.

In a league that’s 70 percent black, there are only four blacks sure to be starting quarterbacks - Houston’s Steve McNair, Cincinnati’s Jeff Blake, Pittsburgh’s Kordell Stewart and St. Louis’ Tony Banks.

Rob’s route

Rob Johnson, who may carry the Jacksonville Jaguars’ hopes this season in place of Mark Brunell, is not exactly the quarterback from nowhere. He was the seventh quarterback taken in the 1995 draft and the 99th overall pick.

But many teams considered him the third-best quarterback available that year, behind Steve McNair, who went to the Oilers with the third overall pick, and Kerry Collins, chosen fifth overall by Carolina.

Pace an expensive scout

Now that Orlando Pace has agreed to a record rookie deal with the St. Louis Rams, he’ll get a little dose of reality.

Coach Dick Vermeil will use his $29.4-million player, the top pick of the draft, on the scout team until he gets up to speed.

“This will be a new experience for me,” Pace said at a news conference Saturday to announce his seven-year deal.

Linebacker Peter Boulware ended his five-week holdout, agreeing to terms with the Baltimore Ravens on a six-year, $18.5 million contract.

The latest talks aimed at resolving linebacker Kevin Greene’s contract holdout have failed, and Carolina Panthers general manager Bill Polian is losing hope of resolving the matter.

Oakland announced that defensive end Pat Swilling has retired - again. Swilling, 32, had announced his retirement in July, but returned to training camp three days later.