By the 1990s, though, Mr. Cassel fell on hard times. The Cassels, like thousands of other families, were devastated by the earthquake that struck Northridge in 1994. Their house all but demolished, they bounced from one temporary home to another for months afterward. Then they plunged into a financial crisis when Mr. Cassel heavily invested his personal funds in an unsuccessful movie project, forcing him and Barbara to seek bankruptcy protection.
The Cassels divorced soon after, and while Barbara and the children managed to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, Mr. Cassel struggled. By the time Matt Cassel emerged as a starting quarterback, Mr. Cassel was living alone in a mobile home in a distressed section of San Bernardino, unable to tune in Patriots games on his television.
