|
Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
|
Glanville is having a grand ‘ole time in Portland
Someone pulled up an Internet poll on his computer screen the other day.
The question is: Is Jerry Glanville alive or dead?
"It's running pretty close!" Glanville shouts. "I asked our secretary, and she voted I was dead."
-- The Seattle Times
|
THE first question, when we first heard that Jerry Glanville was coming back and that he was coming to Hawaii, was, how would this guy handle not being the head coach?
Reports out of Portland sound like he's making up for lost time.
The big realization, once we got to know Glanville here, was that he could be a quiet and serious coach, that he was indeed capable of sitting in the No. 2 seat. That he wasn't, in fact, that cartoon character we'd all thought he would be.
Reports out of Portland sound like he's giving them the full show.
Yes, up in the Great Northwest, at a commuter college in Portland Town, Jerry Glanville is a head coach again. Buckle up.
It sounds like he's having a hell of a time.
Yes, while we in Hawaii found out that the real Glanville wasn't a cartoon character after all, a big story Sunday in the Seattle Times used that very phrase three times. In the opening sentence, even.
But it's said with love. Written by a guy who's already along for the ride.
It sounds like Glanville is having the time of his life, back being a head coach.
Yes, here, at Hawaii, Glanville was occasionally still crazy after all these years. And he told funny stories once in a while. But for the most part he knew he was here to turn a defense around, to be a great assistant coach. For the most part he was quiet. He knew his role. It was to coach defense, and he did a hell of a job.
But up at Division I-AA Portland State, where Glanville is a head coach again, he also knows his role, and he's thrown himself into it full throttle. Salesman. He's giving them the full "cartoon character" schtick. He has to sell himself. Sell the program. Sell ...
"The other day I was talking to my wife," PSU assistant athletic director Scott Herrin told the Times, "and he jumped right in and started trying to sell her season tickets. I said, 'Jerry, that's my wife.' He goes, 'OK, sorry, I was just trying to sell some tickets.' "
And those tickets are selling, better than they have in years. People yell at Glanville on the street. Duck and Beaver fans are buying PSU tickets and Vikings hats. The columnists are crowning him king of the city.
Good thing Glanville has someone around to keep him in check. Listen to this Mouse Davis quote:
"He said, 'Black's not a color, it's an attitude.' I said, 'Do you know who you're talking to here? Don't give me that. Don't use that line on me. Black is a color, (colorful word deleted).' "
This is why I love Mouse Davis.
It sounds like the two of them are having more fun then they've had in years. It's cartoon time, starring the Sunshine Boys. Get on board, Portland. The crazy train rides again.