Jerry Glanville, the fiery former Atlanta Falcons and Houston Oilers head coach, is returning to the sideline at age 82 – and he’s doing so as an assistant at a Division II school.
Northwestern Oklahoma State University announced Wednesday that Glanville has been hired as the team’s defensive coordinator.
At a time when Colorado’s Deion Sanders is one of the hottest names in college football, the Rangers are adding Prime Time’s former college coach to the fold.
‘When I accepted this job at Northwestern, I promised to do everything in my power to bring back the winning tradition of the Ranger Football program,’ NWOSU head coach Ronnie Jones said in a press release.
‘Bringing coach Jerry Glanville is a major step in that direction. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our program. He is considered one of the greatest defensive coaches to ever coach the game and I can’t wait to watch him turn our defense into a dominating unit.’
Glanville pictured in 2018 as the defensive coordinator of the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Jerry Glanville of the Houston Oilers looks on from the sidelines against the Patriots
Glanville climbs into his car during the ARCA Drivers in Concord, North Carolina in 2000
Exactly how much experience does Glanville have?
Over his 57 years in coaching, Glanville has worked everywhere from the CFL, USFL and XFL to top college programs. He last coached in 2022 with the Alabama Airborne of Major League Football.
One of the NFL’s most colorful figures, Glanville famously left tickets at will-call for Elvis Presley even after the singer’s death. He also preferred to wear all black so he could be more easily recognized by his players on the sideline.
He’s perhaps best known for his years with the Oilers, with whom he went 33-32 while winning a single postseason game in 1987 and 1988. Ultimately, Glanville’s team of quarterback Warren Moon and receiver Ernest Givins was perceived to be an underachiever, and the coach was dismissed after a 9-7 season in 1989.
Elvis aficionado Jerry Glanville shows off the personalized license plate on his Corvette
Glanville (right) attended Perrysburg High School in Ohio with future MLB skipper Jim Leyland
Glanville (center) is pictured shooting poll with country western singer Travis Tritt (left)
Glanville then accepted the Falcons position, going 27-37 over four seasons while winning a single playoff game in 1991 with Sanders and another MLB-NFL star, Brian Jordan.
One of his former players and assistants, June Jones, also brought in Glanville to coach at the University of Hawaii and with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
And if anyone at NWOSU wants to talk cars, Glanville has that covered too.
The Ohio native, who grew up with MLB manager Jim Leyland, also raced stockcars on the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series in the early 1990s, as well as several Craftsman Truck Series races as well.