The Glanville era begins

As wet drizzle fell from the sky on a dark, gloomy day in Portland, the proclaimed savior of Viking football–head coach Jerry Glanville–stood square in the middle of the practice field sporting a straw hat and a pair of sunglasses as he observed the team’s first full-pad practice session.

Glanville’s attire seemed more suitable for a stroll on a Hawaiian beach or an afternoon under the hot Houston sun, but definitely not a showery spring practice in Portland. The mere sight of his trademark straw hat and sunglasses shed light on the fact that he has little knowledge of the city’s climate, but it was his mouth that explained he may also have lacked some familiarity with his team’s skill level before the practice.

“I haven’t seen weather like this since the sixth grade picnic, which, by the way, was called off. A straw hat usually lasts me three seasons, I think here my straw may be dead before the spring is over,” said Glanville.

Following Glanville’s first glimpse of his squad in full pads, the former NFL head coach was grim and honest in his assessment, as he feels the team he inherited certainly “better keep working” to meet preseason expectations.

“We really need to work on everything, we need to improve on everything. Do you want a list? Every single thing we’ve got to get better at,” said Glanville. “We were better than the first day, and we’ll get better every day. It’s a growing process. When the players find out what they have to do and how they have to do it, we will get better.”

Although compliments were a rarity after the dreary day of football, Glanville found a way to squeeze a couple in.

“I think we have some guys who can play in the offensive line,” said the head coach. “I think the best kid who we switched positions was this Matt Leunen. Matt reminds me of a guy I had at Georgia Tech, his name was Billy Shields. We moved him to tackle, looks just like [Matt], and he played for the Chargers for 15 years after the move.”

Leunen, who played at tight end prior to his shift to the offensive line, appeared in three games as a sophomore last season, catching only one ball for six yards.

A smile formed on Glanville’s face as he spoke about senior linebacker Jordan Senn, or as he called him, “the javelin thrower.” Senn, a school record holder in javelin for the track team, earned praise from the Vikings’ head man, who said of the dual-sport athlete, “He is a football player–I can see that right now.”

At the end of a soggy first week of spring practice, Glanville still appeared optimistic about the potential of his Viking squad, confident that all the shortfalls witnessed in scrimmages can be cleared up before the weather heats up and the games really matter.

When asked if the team will be better before September rolls around, he said, “Oh, yeah. We will be better next week. In 14 days from today, when the sun is out, we will definitely be better.”

Maybe then the straw hat and sunglasses will be a little more in season for the “Ol’ Ball Coach.”