Steve Schnall

However, Steve Schnall, a 63-year-old scouting consultant for the San Diego Chargers who lives in McAllen, is not optimistic about the Valley's chances for an NFL team.

"About as much chance as me being in the Mr. America contest against Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Schnall, who worked as a defensive back coach for the New York Giants for four years, a Chargers defensive back coach and scout for seven years and general manager of the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League for two years before retiring after a heart attack in 1993.

"No chance at all.The NFL is not going to be looking at the Rio Grande Valley," Schnall said.

He questioned why the NFL would come to the Valley when it doesn't have a team in Los Angeles, the nation's No. 2 market, nor Austin, San Antonio or Portland, Ore.

The Valley also hasn't proven itself with other professional sports, he said.

"We have a hockey team that doesn't draw that well," he said."We don't have a college football team down here.

"It doesn't have the TV clout," he said of the Valley.

"Itâ€s because athletes are high-strung, type-A personalities," said Steve Schnall, a South Texas scout for the Cincinnati Reds and former secondary coach with the New York Giants.
...
"A lot of people are very superstitious about how they put their socks on â€" right one first, left one second," Schnall said.
...
Schnall served under current Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells during his stint coaching defensive backs for the Giants from 1983-86.
...
Schnall said Parcells is as superstitious about routines as they come.
...
"Bill Parcells is the most superstitious person in the whole athletic fraternity," Schnall said.
...
"Itâ€s about establishing a routine because athletics is based on what I call ‘T and R†â€" timing and rhythm," Schnall said.
...
Schnall believes superstitions often arise as a way to deal with stress, and that stress is the same whether itâ€s in a high school athlete or veteran professional.

"In high school, itâ€s the same pressure as in the pros," Schnall said.
...
"Those little superstitions do matter," Schnall said.

"Richardson is a small, quick back who reminds me of (former NFL player) Lionel James," said Steve Schnall, a former NFL assistant coach with the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers.

Schnall: I am an evaluator
...
EDINBURG - Steve Schnall doesn't easily blend in with the rest of the crowd.

You can see him at just about every University of Texas-Pan American sporting event there is.He's at high school football and baseball games.He heads out to Roadrunner and WhiteWing baseball games.And he says he'll even attend Killer Bees games when the minor league hockey franchise begins play in October.

But, whatever you do, don't call Schnall a sports fan.

"I'm not a fan.Don't call me that," Schnall said."I'm an evaluator.I'm not a super fan.
...
Super fan or evaluator, Schnall doesn't miss much when it comes to Rio Grande Valley sports.
...
Schnall, 60, who now resides in McAllen, has coached at more than five colleges across the country.He's been under the direction of such coaches as Lou Holtz in the collegiate ranks and even bigger names in the NFL.

The football general received his most prized job in 1983 when he joined Bill Parcells and the New York Giants as a defensive backs coach.After aiding the careers of future Hall of Famers such as Lawrence Taylor, Schnall departed New York in 1986 to become a member of the San Diego Chargers under the same position.
...
You don't' find people like him (Schnall) around the Valley too often.I've seen him at our games, around the community and even at some of the high school playoff games I went too.He supports our athletes all over the Valley."

When the Ruff Riders folded, the well-traveled Schnall headed to the Valley and latched on with Sonny Detmer's Mission High School football team as a defensive coordinator in 1994.However, three years later Schnall suffered a heart attack and after two surgeries he was forced to retire from the sidelines.

Schnall said he changed his eating habits, along with his exercise routine and now is in the best shape of his life.But, when out scouting for talent, or even at a game for fun, he can't help but feel depressed away from the sidelines.

"I had to walk away," Schnall said.