PonyFans.com

I was doing a search on Google.com and I happened to come across this story about Ronnie Vinklarek. He was the subject of an "outside the lines" story on ESPN back in 2001. After reading this transcript, I think this might be what Coach Bennett was referring to when he said that he was a great story. It's very interesting and it may say a lot about why the man is coming to SMU.

http://sports.espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show91transcript.html

Coach Bennett must certainly appreciate what Coach Vinklarek has gone through. His is an inspiring story of survival. I hope it will help motivate the SMU team in 2004. Thanks for the web site.

I can't imagine two people who can teach the ponies about LIFE more or better than Coach Bennett & the new OL coach.

Did my own search under the guise of "What's wrong with this guy?" As far as I can tell, this guy is a very solid addition to the staff. Best as I could determine, there ain't a darn thing wrong with him.

Vinklarek was Gregg "Not the Hammer" Williams' friend. Williams was Vinklarek's best man at his wedding. When Williams was hired to coach the Buffalo Bills, he hired Vinklarek to a two year contract. At the end of two years, the contract was not renewed.

From what I can tell, Buffalo had a very high opinion of their offensive line. They thought it should have been better than it was. In Vinklarek's 2nd year, they were 24th in rushing (an improvement over the year before) but were next to last in sacks allowed with 54 (BTW, Dallas was dead last). The media blamed Vinklarek's "unorthodox zone blocking scheme" and his lack of experience at the NFL level. In their opinion, Williams had just hired his buddy. Thus, his contract was not renewed and the Bills hired the Packers' Assistant Offensive Line Coach with 26 years of coaching experience at the college and pro level. He was let go along with Williams at the end of the 2003 season.

Apparently, Vinklarek was not entirely to blame for the state of the Buffalo O-line. This year, they were dead last in sacks allowed, although their rushing offense did improve incrementally to 21st. Seems to me, that the problem wasn't entirely Vinklarek's fault.

Wow, quite a story. He truly sounds like a man of character. Now, let's hope he has a decent right kick to whip that O-line into shape.

<small>[ 01-14-2004, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: EastStang ]</small>

I hear even this story doesn't do him justice. He's said to be a superior teacher and a termendous man who teaches players as much about becoming men as he does about becoming better players. I get the impression he's a steal of a hire.