Different breed

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PARK CITY -- The Big Sky Conference is definitely not the NFL's AFC Central of the late 1980s.

Back then, the feelings between the coaches of the AFC Central was different than the relationship of coaches from other divisions. At league functions, coaches from the rest of the divisions often posed for pictures with each other with genuine smiles on their faces.

"They never took an AFC Central picture because we all hated each other," said Portland State's new coach Jerry Glanville. "That was great, yeah that was fantastic."

Glanville, who coached the Houston Oilers from 1986-1989 as part of his 19-year career in the NFL, said it wasn't just him, Sam Wyche (Cincinnati Bengals), Marty Schottenheimer (Cleveland Browns) and Chuck Knoll (Pittsburgh Steelers) that didn't get along.

"It was the team and the cities," Glanville said. "There's never been a rivalry like that since."

One of Glanville's favorite memories was what would happen every time the Oilers visited the Browns at Cleveland Stadium.

"You came out of a baseball dugout and I would put one foot on the field and I could unite 86,000 people," Glanville said. "They all would agree it was time to boo."

While fans from the different Big Sky cities may not get along, the coaches don't seem to have that problem. Glanville was one of four newcomers at the Big Sky's football meetings that took place Sunday through Tuesday in Park City, and quickly won over the other eight coaches. But the Man in Black did joke that maybe he'll start some heat with Montana coach Bobby Hauck and Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff after they visited Monday night.

The feeling may be mutual.

"I've got to keep an eye on him," Hauck joked Tuesday. "He was out recruiting (Montana senior linebacker Kroy) Biermann (Monday) night. I have to know where he is at all times."

Glanville, Jon Zamberlin (Idaho State), Rob Ash (Montana State) and Marshall Sperbeck (Sacramento State) experienced their first trip to the Big Sky's football kickoff and enjoyed the three-day event.

While all four are facing the challenge of learning how to survive in a new conference, perhaps Ash is at the biggest disadvantage. Ash was hired on June 11 after Montana State fired Mike Kramer after a fifth Bobcats football player was arrested or charged with crimes involving drugs or murder in the past year.

"It's a very difficult time to come in because we don't have a chance to work with the players," Ash said. "Any other time you come in you at least have offseason workouts and conditioning where you have everybody there. There are guys on the team who I will meet face to face for the first time when they report to camp in August."

Sharing frustrations and learning from each other were some of the positives for the coaches, who thought it was nice to meet in Park City and have time to become friends off the field.

"Just being here this week and meeting all the coaches, seeing how they do things, it's been great," Sperbeck said. "I'm glad to be a part of it."

But the friendships will have to be put on hold for about a year as now the focus turns from getting to know each other to figuring out how to defeat each other. Starting next month the teams will begin fall practice and they will all have the same goal in mind.

So will the coaches.

"When you step on the field, it's all competition," Zamberlin said at the final day of the meetings. "Friendships kind of wait for times like this."

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