September 7, 2007
By Allen Madding

Allen Madding

Jimmy Spencer

Born October 14, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan, Jerry Glanville grew up in Perrysburg, Ohio. Glanville played football in high school wearing the number 73, graduating from Perrysburg High School and then attending and playing linebacker on the football team at Northern Michigan University. Upon graduation from Northern Michigan, Glanville later received a Masters Degree from Western Kentucky University.

His NFL career began in 1974 when he accepted the position of special teams coach and defensive assistant coach with the Detroit Lions. He remained with Detroit thru 1976. He then joined the staff of the Atlanta Falcons in 1977 as defensive back coach. In 1979, the Falcons promoted him to defensive coordinator – a position he would hold thru 1982.

Glanville left Atlanta to join the Buffalo Bills in 1983. In 1984, he joined the staff of the Houston Oilers as the defensive coordinator. In 1986, the Oilers named him head coach where he remained thru 1989. His success in Houston brought him back to Atlanta in 1990, this time as head coach. After a disappointing first-year record of 5-11, Glanville turned the team around with a career-high record of 11-5 in 1991. He continued to coach the Atlanta Falcons through 1993. Glanville then began a career as a sportscaster with FOX, CBS, and HBO.

In 1992, Glanville was inducted into the Northern Michigan University Hall of Fame and was a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award.

That same year, an avid Motorsports fan, Glanville launched his debut in the NASCAR Busch Series at the age of 50. Glanville made three starts in the Busch Series campaigning his No. 56 Atlanta Falcons Buick. In 1993, Glanville returned to the Busch Series campaigning his No. 81 Computer Transport / Harley – Davidson Ford in three events.

Glanville then focused his attention on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for 1995 making 14 starts in his No. 81 Glanville Motorsports Ford recording two 14th place finishes during the season finishing 18th in the series points. He made five starts in the Truck Series in 1996 followed by two starts in 1997 and in 1998. In 1999, Glanville made four starts in the Truck Series with sponsorship from Unifirst Uniforms. During his stint in the NASCAR ranks, Glanville was most notably remembered for his dressing in all black and leaving tickets at the gate of the racetrack for Elvis.

In July 2001, Perrysburg High School honored Glanville by retiring his football jersey.

In 2002, Glanville competed in the NHRA and the NMCA and in seven ARCA RE/Max Series events. In 2003, he competed with the ARCA RE/Max Series and the Slim Jim Late Models. In May 2003, Glanville was seriously injured while qualifying for the ARCA event at Sparta, Kentucky requiring skin graft surgery. He recovered from his injuries and by July was back competing with the Slim Jim Late Models and in NHRA drag racing.

In 2004, he competed in the Nostalgia Muscle Cars drag racing and in the ARCA RE/Max Series.

In 2005, Glanville accepted the position of Defensive Coordinator at the University of Hawaii.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.