Glanville looking to go small-time, interviews with Div. II school

ABERDEEN, S.D. -- Jerry Glanville's experience as an NFL head coach makes him a good prospect for the top coaching job at Northern State University, players said after talking with Glanville this week.

Glanville was in Aberdeen to interview for the job at Northern State, an NCAA Division II program. He is one of four finalists for the post.

Glanville talked with school officials and met with the team, which ended the 2004 season 6-5, including a 5-2 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

"It was just exciting to have that high-profile of a guy come in and be interested in this position," said Brian Jark, who played his high school football in Aberdeen.

Glanville has coached for four NFL teams, including head coaching jobs with the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons. He also has been a sports commentator on television.

"I think when you get here, you go away with a different feeling than before you came," Glanville said in an interview. "Coming here, I didn't know what the strengths were. But after being here for two days, 2½ days, the strength is the people."

Quarterback Toby Korrodi said the team had a good talk with Glanville on Monday.

"He just flat-out told us, you know, 'This is what's going to happen; this is what I expect of the team.' And he's not even our coach yet," Korrodi said.

Defensive player Steven Edwards said he would like to work under Glanville to improve as a player.

"He was the guy that brought Deion Sanders into the league, so being a corner, I'm looking forward to working with him so he can help me develop, help my teammates develop and take us to the next level," Edwards said.

Glanville said he got a good feel for the team during his visit and that there were more plusses than minuses.

The other candidates for the Wolves post are Kyle Achterhoff, offensive coordinator at Northwestern College in Iowa; Lance Leipold, assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Nebraska-Omaha; and Paul McCord, special teams coach for the Buffalo Bills.

"Whoever comes in will do a great job and just work to make our team the best we can be," Jark said.

Ken Heupel, who was 44-33 overall in seven years as Northern's head coach, announced Jan. 19 that he was stepping down.