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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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There’s a lot happening under the hat
THE thing that I will always remember about Jerry Glanville is the quiet. This is my lasting image of him, the quiet, him leaning forward, talking softly, his voice almost hushed.
In Hawaii, just about the highest compliment you can bestow on someone, pretty much the best thing you can say about a person, is that he is humble. And Glanville was that.
What a revelation it was. What a discovery, to find out that this was who Jerry Glanville turned out to be.
"They just learn so much," he once said of these UH players.
"If you think you're a teacher," he said, "then you see people learn."
Oh, he could still do crazy, still had that club in his bag. He would still say funny things and fill up your notebook; it was great fun to write. He'd tell a wild story, give you a great quote.
I can see now he's already giving the good people of Portland the full show.
But I'm remembering the quiet. The man who was supposed to be all flash and brash who turned out to be anything but.
How many times did you hear him on radio? How many times did you see him on TV? He almost tried to duck out of the spotlight.
If you wanted to talk to Glanville you had to wait until after he and Rich Miano were pau jogging after practice. And then you got the quiet. The substance. The serious. Football.
Life.
He downplayed everything. Went against image. The cowboy hat? The doctor made him wear it to keep off the sun. The brash and the flash? That wasn't really him.
He took the blame after games. He took a stand against 15-yard penalties. He had one of his guys apologize to an official in the middle of a game.
He was humble. It was like he was older, and knew what was important now. The Glanville we knew was a different guy, at UH, a better one. And being around these UH players was making him better still.
"I actually think now," he said, as last season wound down, "I wish I'd'a been this good the last time I was in pro football."
He changed this UH program. He helped re-energize recruiting, showed you could (and should) emphasize tackling.
He had those guys hitting like crazy people out there.
He had June Jones in a good mood.
And yes, he knew when he was supposed to let loose with a funny line, knew that being a little nuts was part of his job description, too.
He'll do well at Portland State.
This UH program will miss him immensely. So will I. Today I'm in, to use his term, OW (open weeping).
I'll miss the craziness. I'll miss the quiet behind it most of all.