Jerry Glanville Named Colonials Coach
March 21, 2011 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Hartford Colonials News Release
HARTFORD, CT - Monday, March 21, 2011 - The irrepressible JERRY GLANVILLE will lead the Hartford Colonials into the 2011 United Football League season as Head Coach and General Manager, bringing with him decades of professional and college coaching experience.
Glanville, a native of Perrysburg, Ohio, is well known to fans from his coaching years in the National Football League that spanned two decades. He was head coach of the Houston Oilers (1985-89) and Atlanta Falcons (1990-93), and was also a defensive coordinator for six years and an assistant for a further six seasons.
"I am delighted to be leading the Colonials into the 2011 UFL season," Glanville said. "How good a coaching job you have is judged by how good your support group is and with owner Bill Mayer, Commissioner Michael Huyghue and the Hartford fans, I may have the best coaching job in America.
"I am already fired up by the excitement of coaching new players in a new city. There will be little or no sleep as we evaluate players, prepare for open tryouts and install our game plan. I am putting together a new coaching staff in my mind. The key will be that they are teachers that can get along and be able to hunt down players. Everything is about to change."
Colonials owner BILL MAYER said of his team's new head coach: "We have brought a proven winner and a colorful person to Hartford and he is certain to excite and entertain our fans. His enthusiasm not only for the game, but also for what we are trying to achieve in Hartford and with the UFL is infectious. I cannot wait for him to get out onto the football field."
Glanville joins Jim Fassel (Las Vegas) and Dennis Green (Sacramento) as current UFL head coaches with NFL head coaching experience.
"By hiring Jerry Glanville, we have underlined our commitment to bring fans of the United Football League top-quality coaches who have a winning pedigree and are household names," said UFL Commissioner MICHAEL HUYGHUE. "He will add to the buzz that the Colonials have already created in Hartford and will take the organization to new heights."
Glanville succeeds Chris Palmer as Colonials Head Coach. In Palmer's only season at the helm, the Colonials went 3-5 in 2010, finishing on a high note as they defeated the Championship Game-bound Las Vegas Locos at their Rentschler Field home in East Hartford. Palmer was hired as Offensive Coordinator for the Tennessee Titans in February.
The Colonials struck a chord with football fans in Hartford and the Connecticut region, averaging more than 14,000 in attendance during the course of four home games. Glanville will lead his Colonials against the reigning champion Locos, Omaha Nighthawks, Sacramento Mountain Lions and expansion team Virginia Destroyers when the third UFL season kicks off in August. Fans can register for tickets for the 2011 Colonials season at [2]www.HartfordColonials.com.
Glanville will meet with fans, media, team staff and members of the local business community when in Hartford this week and will also tour team facilities. Glanville will tweet throughout his visit to Hartford from [3]www.Twitter.com/jerryglanville and as the UFL continues to embrace innovation, his time as head coach of the Colonials will be documented daily on Twitter.
As the Oilers Head Coach, Glanville was 33-32 in the regular season and guided Houston to three consecutive playoff appearances between 1987-89. His regular season record with Atlanta was 27-37, and the Falcons made the playoffs in 1991. His teams went 3-4 overall in postseason play. Glanville most recently coached on the collegiate level, serving as Head Coach at Portland State University (2007-09) and Defensive Coordinator at Hawaii (2005-06).
After finishing his collegiate playing career as a linebacker at Northern Michigan, Glanville started his coaching career as the Defensive Coordinator at Western Kentucky in 1967. He moved on to Georgia Tech as Defensive Ends / Outside Linebackers Coach (1968-73) before entering the NFL with the Detroit Lions as a Defensive Assistant / Special Teams Coach (1974-76).
Glanville began the first of two coaching stints with the Falcons as a Defensive Backs Coach for two years (1977-78) before being promoted to Defensive Coordinator (1979-82). He was the Buffalo Bills' Defensive Backs Coach in 1983 then went to the Oilers as Defensive Coordinator (1984-85).
Between his head coaching stint with the Falcons and his time at Hawaii, Glanville spent 11 years broadcasting NFL games, including five years on FOX, six years on HBO's "Inside the NFL," and on CBS's "NFL Today" and The Football Network. He was also an owner / driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series from 1995-99.
United Football League Stories from March 21, 2011
- Jerry Glanville Named Colonials Coach - Hartford Colonials
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
