Post by Banana Cat on Mar 25, 2011 4:22:43 GMT -5
www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2011/03/24/sports/local_sports/doc4d88ba4e47306896741152.txt
UFL: Glanville happily leaves retirement behind
Colonials’ new coach strongly believes the UFL ‘would be awesome’ with 8 teams instead of 5
By John F. Silver / Journal Inquirer
March 22, 2011
HARTFORD — Jerry Glanville was enjoying a cozy retirement in Dawsonville, Ga.
The 69-year old Glanville was the toast of the 800-person town just north of Atlanta and it seemed a perfect place for the former Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons head coach to settle in.
That’s where Glanville was destined to be after finishing up a three-year stint as the Portland State head football coach in 2009. He had been out of professional football for a decade and after a satisfying run was asked by Sports Illustrated to evaluate Tim Tebow before last year’s draft.
While he was in Orlando evaluating Tebow he ran into a former player of his in Jim Haslett, current defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. Haslett invited Glanville to a social meeting of the upstart UFL. Haslett talked to Glanville about how much fun the league was to coach in, which Haslett did in 2009 in Orlando as head coach.
So Glanville showed up at the UFL social and started to talk with the league.
The UFL stuck in Glanville’s head and when an opportunity to get back in coaching came up, he couldn’t say no.
Glanville was named coach and general manager of the Hartford Colonials Monday. He takes over for Chris Palmer, who left the Colonials to take the offensive coordinator job with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Glanville inherits a Colonials team that went 3-5 in their first season in Hartford. With 20 years of experience in the NFL, Glanville understands how badly professional football needs a league like the UFL.
“I have been coaching in leagues since 1974. Since that time, the last 10-12 guys you cut are as good as the last 10-12 you kept,” Glanville said. “This whole league is based on playing good football. No hype, no marketing or catchy phrases. It’s based on playing good football and that is here to stay.”
Glanville has a 63-73 career record as an NFL head coach and is known for his candor and flair. He has made it a habit of leaving two tickets to every game for Elvis Presley, and is one of the more recognizable coaches of the past 30 years in the NFL.
Glanville thinks it’s his willingness to speak candidly about issues which has endeared himself to football fans.
The colorful Glanville joins the Colonials and the UFL at a time the league is struggling with debt issues. The league has run up, according to reports, nearly $80 million in losses in two years including approximately $50 million this past season.
There have been growing pains with the league. The UFL and Colonials owe money to a handful of vendors in the community.
There is still a shortage of investors and there has been instability in the league with the Orlando franchise folding after two years. The league remains at five teams — Hartford, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Omaha and Virginia, an expansion franchise that will begin play in the fall.
The league continues to evolve and has quickly shifted its day-to-day operations from a central location in Jacksonville, Fla., to local control by the franchises. The Colonials recently hired Bill Peterson, a former executive in NFL Europe, to be its president and run the day-to-day businesses in Hartford.
Colonials’ owner Bill Mayer believes that is an important step for the team and the UFL. The football operations under Palmer ran fine last season, but the business side severely lagged.
“We had Chris here running the football, but no one running the business,’’ Mayer said. “I called Bill (Peterson), and we got together very quickly. He’s my team president and he is running the business and I am more relaxed about our prospects.”
Glanville is well aware of the struggles the UFL faces. The Colonials still haven’t signed on to play their games at Rentschler Field next year, and the future after the 2011 season remains cloudy. Glanville, however, is firmly convinced that the league has some staying power.
“I think we need more investors. If we get eight teams the league will be awesome,” Glanville said. “Are we there? No. But put this in bold – if we end up with eight teams this thing will be on fire. You need more investors and owners like I have. Until then, we have to carry the flag ourselves.”
Colonials’ new coach strongly believes the UFL ‘would be awesome’ with 8 teams instead of 5
By John F. Silver / Journal Inquirer
March 22, 2011
HARTFORD — Jerry Glanville was enjoying a cozy retirement in Dawsonville, Ga.
The 69-year old Glanville was the toast of the 800-person town just north of Atlanta and it seemed a perfect place for the former Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons head coach to settle in.
That’s where Glanville was destined to be after finishing up a three-year stint as the Portland State head football coach in 2009. He had been out of professional football for a decade and after a satisfying run was asked by Sports Illustrated to evaluate Tim Tebow before last year’s draft.
While he was in Orlando evaluating Tebow he ran into a former player of his in Jim Haslett, current defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. Haslett invited Glanville to a social meeting of the upstart UFL. Haslett talked to Glanville about how much fun the league was to coach in, which Haslett did in 2009 in Orlando as head coach.
So Glanville showed up at the UFL social and started to talk with the league.
The UFL stuck in Glanville’s head and when an opportunity to get back in coaching came up, he couldn’t say no.
Glanville was named coach and general manager of the Hartford Colonials Monday. He takes over for Chris Palmer, who left the Colonials to take the offensive coordinator job with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Glanville inherits a Colonials team that went 3-5 in their first season in Hartford. With 20 years of experience in the NFL, Glanville understands how badly professional football needs a league like the UFL.
“I have been coaching in leagues since 1974. Since that time, the last 10-12 guys you cut are as good as the last 10-12 you kept,” Glanville said. “This whole league is based on playing good football. No hype, no marketing or catchy phrases. It’s based on playing good football and that is here to stay.”
Glanville has a 63-73 career record as an NFL head coach and is known for his candor and flair. He has made it a habit of leaving two tickets to every game for Elvis Presley, and is one of the more recognizable coaches of the past 30 years in the NFL.
Glanville thinks it’s his willingness to speak candidly about issues which has endeared himself to football fans.
The colorful Glanville joins the Colonials and the UFL at a time the league is struggling with debt issues. The league has run up, according to reports, nearly $80 million in losses in two years including approximately $50 million this past season.
There have been growing pains with the league. The UFL and Colonials owe money to a handful of vendors in the community.
There is still a shortage of investors and there has been instability in the league with the Orlando franchise folding after two years. The league remains at five teams — Hartford, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Omaha and Virginia, an expansion franchise that will begin play in the fall.
The league continues to evolve and has quickly shifted its day-to-day operations from a central location in Jacksonville, Fla., to local control by the franchises. The Colonials recently hired Bill Peterson, a former executive in NFL Europe, to be its president and run the day-to-day businesses in Hartford.
Colonials’ owner Bill Mayer believes that is an important step for the team and the UFL. The football operations under Palmer ran fine last season, but the business side severely lagged.
“We had Chris here running the football, but no one running the business,’’ Mayer said. “I called Bill (Peterson), and we got together very quickly. He’s my team president and he is running the business and I am more relaxed about our prospects.”
Glanville is well aware of the struggles the UFL faces. The Colonials still haven’t signed on to play their games at Rentschler Field next year, and the future after the 2011 season remains cloudy. Glanville, however, is firmly convinced that the league has some staying power.
“I think we need more investors. If we get eight teams the league will be awesome,” Glanville said. “Are we there? No. But put this in bold – if we end up with eight teams this thing will be on fire. You need more investors and owners like I have. Until then, we have to carry the flag ourselves.”