Jerry Glanville left his home in Dawsonville last week to start his new job as head coach of the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League.
While settling into his Connecticut surroundings, Glanville has not contemplated if he’ll wear his trademark all-black outfits on the sidelines or if he’ll leave tickets for Elvis at will call. He wore all-black for most of his nine years as a head coach in the NFL, including a stint with the Falcons from 1990-93.
When asked about his wardrobe and any antics, Glanville, 69, chuckled and said, “We’re just trying to put a team together right now.”
The Colonials report for training camp Friday and open their eight-game schedule with a road game in Virginia Beach, Va., on Aug. 13.
The five-team league, which essentially has served as a secondary proving ground for borderline NFL players, is entering its third season.
After a long NFL and collegiate coaching career, Glanville, who also was an assistant coach with the Falcons (1977-82) and Georgia Tech (1968-74), could have stayed at home.
He flirted with joining the UFL last season, but San Antonio did not get a franchise. He flew to New York in the spring to meet Hartford owner Bill Mayer and a few days later was offered the job.
“We have brought a proven winner and a colorful person to Hartford and he is certain to excite and entertain our fans,” Mayer said. “His enthusiasm not only for the game, but also for what we are trying to achieve in Hartford and with the UFL is infectious.”
The UFL has welcomed the colorful Glanville with open arms.
“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,” UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue said.
For Glanville, it was a simple decision. “You never get tired of coaching,” Glanville said. “If you do, they’ll be throwing dirt in your face. You’ll be dead in the ground and still want to coach.”
Glanville is not comfortable talking about his roster. He has evaluated players on film, but he would like to see them perform in person.
“We have one or two openings along the offensive line,” Glanville said. “We are over one at the free safety. We are working on that and trying to balance the board out before we get the players in here.”
Glanville’s roster has some Georgia products in cornerbacks Tra Battle (Georgia) and Ahmad “Batman” Carroll (Douglass High, Arkansas) and offensive lineman Sergio Render (Newnan High, Virginia Tech).
“What your whole deal is that you’re a teacher,” Glanville said. “You just hope that can take a guy and make him play better than what he used to play. If you can do that with one guy, you had a good day. If you can do it with 30 guys, you’ve got a good team.”
Glanville has several former NFL players and coaches on his staff, including Turk Schonert, Harold Jackson, Tim Krumrie, James Willis and Jeff Burris.
“The best staff in any league is right here,” Glanville said. “I’ve got the best assistant coaches in pro football, period.”
Including the much lower pay scale, there are stark differences between the UFL and the NFL.
“’We have no offseason programs, we have no minicamps and believe it or not, we have no preseason games,” Glanville said. “Because of financial restraints, we don’t get as long of a look before we start playing. We have three weeks of practice before we are playing games that count.”
Even given those limitations, Glanville, who also is the general manager, is ready for the start of practice.
“You hope that every player plays so well and does so good that he gets a chance to go to the NFL,” Glanville said. “That’s really what this league is all about. Trying to get the guys another chance.”
The UFL also has teams in Omaha, Neb.; Sacramento, Calif.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and Las Vegas.
In addition to Glanville, former NFL coaches Jim Fassel (Las Vegas), Dennis Green (Sacramento) and Marty Schottenheimer (Virginia) are head coaches.
The eight-game season runs from Aug. 15 through Oct. 15.
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