PORTLAND, Ore. -- Jerry Glanville is ready to run another
football team. This time, the former NFL coach is taking over at
Portland State -- vowing to turn the Vikings into the "hardest
hitting football team on the West Coast."
Glanville, former coach of the NFL's Houston Oilers and Atlanta
Falcons, has been defensive coordinator at Hawaii for the past two
seasons under June Jones.
He replaces Tim Walsh, who resigned Feb. 16 after 14 years with
the Division I-AA Vikings to take over as offensive coordinator for
Army.
"I hope our football team does not just represent the
university. I want this to be the city's football team," Glanville
said.
The terms of Glanville's contract -- including its length -- have
not yet been determined. Glanville interviewed over a whirlwind
visit Monday and Tuesday.
"We had to convince him that the athletic department, the
university and the city, that we are committed to this football
team," interim athletic director Teri Mariani said.
Glanville, 65, developed the so-called "Gritz Blitz" defense
and was head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986-89 and the
Atlanta Falcons from 1990-93. He was known as much for his
personality as his coaching.
Outspoken and often dressed in black, he playfully left game
tickets for Elvis Presley to pay homage to the late singer.
After head coaching stints at Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky,
Glanville embarked on a pro career as a special teams coach and
defensive assistant with the Detroit Lions.
He became defensive backs coach for the Falcons in 1977 and
later served as defensive coordinator. In 1984, he joined the
Oilers as defensive coordinator and two seasons later became head
coach.
He returned to the Falcons as head coach in 1990. He was
replaced in 1993 by Jones.
He put his caching career aside for the next 11 years and worked
in television, with such shows as "NFL Today" and a five-year run
on Fox.
Glanville joined Jones' staff at Hawaii in 2005. Glanville said
Jones, who starred at quarterback for Portland State in the
mid-1970s, was the one who persuaded him to take the job.
"He said, 'You and that school would be tremendous,'"
Glanville said.
In a packed conference room at Portland State's student union,
Glanville was applauded by boosters. His wife, Brenda, was bestowed
with flowers from President Daniel Bernstine.
"I think we're on our way to have a lot of fun," Glanville
said. "One thing about the Glanvilles is that we have fun."
Glanville is expected to name former Portland State head coach
Mouse Davis, whose run-n-shoot offense Jones still uses, as his
offensive coordinator.
Walsh went 90-68 at Portland State, including 7-4 last season.
He led the Vikings to three straight playoff appearances at the
Division II level before they moved up to Division I-AA and the Big
Sky Conference in 1996.
"I think we're already a good football team," Glanville said.
"We're going to go to work and we're going to build on all the
good things the previous coaching staff was able to do"