The man in black is back.
On Monday, Jerry Glanville, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach known for the “Run ‘N’ Shoot” offense, full black regalia and Elvis worship, signed on to lead the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League. In a press conference he told reporters he has the best football job in America. Glanville’s hire is the latest in what has been a busy off-season for football fans.
I have a houseful of energetic, at times very loud, children. When I’m involved in a project I can tell when the usual yells and screams morph into a different kind – one that demands my immediate attention. Until that point, though, I’m largely tuned out.
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This is how I’ve come to see the current NFL labor dispute. Rich players squaring off against richer owners. Even though a lockout is officially in place, I’m not going to be concerned until say, mid-summer. Yeah, that’s late, but this is a $9.3 billion turkey both parties are fighting over. You assume someone at some point is going to get hungry enough to go for a drumstick, even if they lose a little.
Still, it’s not a bad idea to have a backup for this fall. College football is the obvious replacement, except Sundays and Monday nights are still left open. Baseball is going on, but like much of America, I’m not paying attention until the playoffs. The NBA starts in October, but its champs had been crowned only a few months earlier and we all need a break. Hockey? Yeah, never mind.
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Enter the UFL.
Don’t laugh. The NFL’s kid brother has been collecting a number of notable names and, should there be a vacuum in September, could take a huge step forward.
Just one team – the Omaha Nighthawks – counts former Packers Ahman Green (Green Bay’s all-time leading rusher) and Robert Ferguson, former Pro Bowler Jeff Garcia, and ex-Colts linebacker Cato June as members. Former Ohio State hero Maurice Clarett joins Green in the backfield. SEC fans will recognize former LSU wideout Michael Clayton, Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley and Alabama running back Shaud Williams.
Coaches are joining the act, too. Jim Fassel (Giants) has found a home with the Las Vegas Locomotives (and reportedly is trying to lure the recently un-retired Tiki Barber to Vegas to rekindle their success in New York). Dennis Green leads the Sacramento Mountain Lions (“The Locomotives are who we thought they were!”). The UFL lost a great nickname when the Florida Tuskers moved to become the Virginia Destroyers, but may have gained their biggest coaching coup of all with the possible hiring of Marty Schottenheimer.
Again, don’t snicker at the thought of the UFL taking a larger portion of your recliner time this fall. In 1983, Herschel Walker joined the United States Football League when the NFL wouldn’t let a junior enter the draft. Major stars such as Reggie White, Jim Kelly and Steve Young followed for the league’s notable run before flaming out in 1987, due in part to the large salaries of those very stars. Julius Erving, Joe Namath, Wayne Gretzky, even Joe DiMaggio played for other professional leagues in their sport.
Some tinkering will be required, such as a different intro song this fall when you and friends gather for the titanic Monday night Mountain Lions/Colonials showdown at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT. The artist will need to fit in and accurately reflect a league full of familiar faces – men still with a bit left in their tank and something to prove.
Come to think of it, Hank Jr. would fit in fine.
