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A new-age relic: advance scouts have been around forever, but their roles—and the men who fill them—have changed. Meet Rodd Newhouse, who walks a lonely road in a weekly attempt to give the Cardinals an edge

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Paul Attner

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"The NFL is such a creature of habit," says Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist, who once did advance scouting for Denver. "You can hear teams saying, 'It has worked this way for the past 15 years and dadgumit, this is the way it will work now. That's how we beat Dick Butkus and the Bears.' We've got so much information instantly available now; we think we can better utilize our scouts here, looking at tape. Mike Shanahan's thought is, 'We are going to beat these guys by watching tape.'"

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Rodd Newhouse put his house in Arizona up for sale last Wednesday; it was purchased in less than 24 hours. Just before he boarded a plane Thursday, he was signing the final contract at the gate. He hadn't bought another place; it just seemed like a good time to sell, now that he was getting married next summer and wanted a new place to live with his fiancee. Of course, he hadn't anticipated selling so fast, but good things like this just seem to happen to him.

He hadn't set out to be a scout, either. He wanted to play pro football like his dad, who now is director of alumni affairs with the Cowboys. When he was a kid, Rodd would attend Dallas practices; he knew Roger Staubach and Tony Hill and Drew Pearson and Tony Dorsett; they all tell him now how much he looks like his dad. He was a running back at Rice but didn't make it through training camp with the Ravens in 1998. He worked with his father in Dallas for a few months, then was hired by the league as an intern. He stayed in New York almost a year at $7 an hour, learning about contracts, the draft, the collective bargaining agreement. The Cardinals had an opening in their pro personnel department and gave it to him in 1999.

"My niche is sports, and my strength is dealing with people, and this job plays to my strengths," he says. "I felt comfortable in the sports arena; that had been my life. I know that for a long time, I resented being always referred to as Roddrick Newhouse, son of former Dallas Cowboy Robert Newhouse. But now that title brings a smile to my face. This is a way for me to continue his legacy." He also is happy that brother Reggie is a Cardinals receiver.

Newhouse is bright, gregarious, ambitious. "Did he say he wanted my job?" asks Rod Graves, the Cardinals' vice president for football operations who brought Newhouse to the Cardinals. Graves laughs. He knows the answer. Yes, Newhouse had mentioned he would love to have that position. "I have no timetable as to how long I want to keep doing what I am doing now" he says. "I still enjoy it very much. People say I am young, but there are folks just starting to do what I have done for a long time. My ultimate goal is ownership. Why not?"

When Graves interviewed Newhouse, he saw a guy much like himself. "He was anxious," says Graves, "and willing to learn. He had grown up in the game, and he was a hard worker. With his background, we felt he could learn how to scout pretty quickly. We've been tremendously pleased with him, and we think he has a great future." Fortunately for Newhouse, veteran Jim Stanley, a former college and pro coach, was in Arizona's pro personnel department. He became the young man's mentor, helping to train him before he started out on the road. The Cardinals recognize Newhouse's progress; this past offseason, he negotiated the contract of fifth-round pick Antonio Smith, a defensive end from Oklahoma State. Next, he hopes to be involved more in the salary cap.

A new-age relic: advance scouts have been around forever, but their roles—and the men who fill them—have changed. Meet Rodd Newhouse, who walks a lonely road in a weekly attempt to give the Cardinals an edge

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Paul Attner

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