Out to pasture

Darrell “Mouse” Davis announced his retirement Monday, as the 76-year-old will walk away from his position as offensive coordinator of the Portland State football team.

Davis had just finished his second full season in charge of the offense and behind his run-and-shoot system—a scheme that he began deploying during his first stint at Portland State from 1974–80—the Vikings had become one of the most prolific offenses in all of college football.

“I knew that it was time [to retire] during spring ball,” Davis said. “I told Jerry that the time was right.”

As remarkable as Davis’ on-the-field résumé is, even more impressive was the positive effect that he seemed to have on each team and player that he touched.

“He is the best at what he does, which is teaching the game of football,” said junior quarterback Tygue Howland. “We always had a good time, but we worked really hard with him.”

Davis’ football roots run deep in Oregon. He played quarterback, halfback and cornerback at what was then known as the Oregon College of Education in Monmouth. Before coming to Portland State in the mid-’70s he had stops at five different Metro-area high schools.

“He has been around the game as much as anybody that I have known personally and so he has a ton of experience and credibility when he says, ‘Most of the time, you should do this,'” Howland said.

He manned the helm for the Vikings and helped guide the team to a combined six-year record of 42-24, while producing a high-powered offense that averaged better than 37 points per game during that span.

His run-and-shoot offense completely revamped the passing game of college football at the time, as his willingness to use four to five receivers and quick option routes changed the way that defenses could approach the Vikings, or whomever Davis was coaching.

While he would go on to spend time coaching in six different leagues as a head or assistant coach, Davis and head coach Jerry Glanville would team up as assistant coaches at Hawaii from 2004–06.

“We have spent a ton of time together,” Davis said of his relationship with Glanville. “He’s a special guy. The team will be fine with his leadership.”

The wave of uncertainty created by Davis’ departure will not likely disrupt what little momentum Glanville has created during his two years as Portland State head coach.

“Any success we have in the future will be a big part of what he has done while he was here,” Glanville said in a press release. “Do we replace him? It’s impossible. God bless Mouse.”

The team will return the majority of its starters from 2008, with the offense slated to bring back up to 10 of the 11 from last season.

“The team is in pretty good hands with the players we have. We had a good spring and we sat down and talked about some of the things that we need to get better at,” Davis said.

Glanville said that the Vikings would continue to operate the run-and-shoot next season and Howland reiterated one of Davis’ founding principles.

“He always says, ‘When we do what we’re supposed to do, there isn’t anybody that can stop us,'” Howland said. “His attitude, that nobody is supposed to beat us, will certainly be a part of our team next season.”

Despite the Vikings’ inability to produce the desired result on the field—the team has compiled a 7-15 record over the past two seasons—Davis’ offense has been nothing short of spectacular.

Even though the team shuffled quarterbacks nearly every game, the Portland State offense averaged better than 370 passing yards per game, leading the nation.

Junior quarterback Drew Hubel threw for 18 touchdowns and the Vikings posted wins against Idaho State, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado in conference play.

“There were hopes that we would get things turned around. I am disappointed that we haven’t done that,” Davis said. “I think we will have the best year that we’ve had certainly this next year.”