COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Davis says he will follow if Glanville leaves UH
The inventor of the run-and-shoot would become PSU's offensive coordinator
Darrel "Mouse" Davis -- who has left a giant imprint on offensive football -- says he is ready to complete the circle and return to the school where he first made the run-and-shoot famous 30 years ago.
Davis, an assistant at Hawaii, said yesterday it is likely he will be Jerry Glanville's offensive coordinator at Portland State if Glanville becomes the PSU head coach next week as expected.
"I think it's up to Jerry's wife (Brenda) whether he takes the job, but if he does, I'll probably go run the offense," Davis told the Star-Bulletin in a phone interview from the Big Island, where he was getting ready for a round of golf.
Glanville, UH's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, was scheduled to arrive in Portland today and interview for the Vikings vacancy tomorrow and Tuesday. Portland State wants to name a replacement by the end of next week for Tim Walsh, who left to be offensive coordinator at Army.
Davis, 74, is a legend at Portland State, as well as throughout football, for development of the four-receiver run-and-shoot offense. While the run-and-shoot, in its purest form, was not a complete success in the NFL, many of its concepts are still employed by productive pro and college offenses. One example is the regular use of formations with one running back instead of two.
He was offensive coordinator at PSU in 1974 and head coach from 1975 to 1980. His teams went 42-24 and routinely led the nation in scoring. Led by future NFL quarterbacks June Jones and Neil Lomax, the Vikings set 20 NCAA Division I-AA records. Davis is also credited as a co-inventor of arena football.
Davis, who worked with Jones on four previous pro coaching staffs, joined Jones' UH staff in 2004 after leaving as head coach of the arenafootball2 San Diego Riptide. The offense and special teams assistant previously said he planned to retire after last season, but that he still enjoys coaching. Davis was also mentioned as a candidate to be the Portland State athletic director, but he was not interested in that job, nor the head coach position.
If Davis leaves UH, his likely replacement is graduate assistant Dennis McKnight, who worked closely with the UH offensive line and special teams last fall and was the Hawaii special teams coach in 1999 and 2000.
Defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold, a former CFL head coach who interviewed for an assistant's position with the Oakland Raiders recently, is a candidate to replace Glanville as defensive coordinator.
"I just wish Jerry luck if that's what he wants to do. I think it's his job if he wants it," Reinebold said.
Glanville, 65, has been the Warriors' DC since 2005, when he came to UH at the request of Jones. Jones was an assistant coach with the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons when Glanville was head coach. Glanville's college coaching experience includes stints at Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky.
Glanville ended a 12-year coaching hiatus when he joined the Warriors staff.
UH ranked 116th out of 117 Division I teams in yards allowed per game in 2004 with 487.77 and the Warriors gave up 38.4 points per game, which was 112th.
Last season, Hawaii's second under Glanville, the defense was 93rd in yards allowed (377.79) and 69th in points allowed (24.1).
Arkansas State receivers coach Mike McCarty and Willamette head coach Mark Speckman have been reported as other candidates for the Portland State head coach job, as has interim coach Greg Lupfer, who has received strong support from several PSU players.