DMN Blogs on Gansz

[ponyboy]

SMU: Frank Gansz
2:34 PM Thu, Oct 23, 2008

When I called Chris Spielman on Tuesday for the article today on Frank Gansz, SMU's special teams coach, I was mortified.

I didn't realize that Chris had just buried his father, Charles "Sonny" Spielman.

But after hearing why I called, Chris absolutely lit up.

"Besides, my dad, who was also a football coach, Frank probably had the most influence on me as far as teaching me about life through football," Chris said. "It was appropriate that you called today."

Chris was among several players, coaches and the like who chimed in on Frank Gansz for the story. Here's a sample of what they had to say:

Chris Spielman, former NFL linebacker and current ESPN analyst:
"He is a guy that I admire, and I think I've told him that. But this article is a nice way of me getting to tell him what he really meant to me, not only as a player - he wasn't even my position coach - but the impact he had on me as man."

[deleted] Vermeil, former NFL coach who had Gansz on staff during 1999 Super Bowl year:
"He can take people with skills and get them to utilize them unselfishly and he can get them to continue to improve and keep striving for more perfection. He's an innovator. He kept adding things people don't normally see, which made our special teams even more explosive."

Donovin Darius, former NFL safety on why Gansz is a great fit for SMU:
"I always felt at the college level is where you really start to develop men. He has so much experience coaching at all different levels and he brings the energy, the passion, the commitment, the experience necessary to turn any program around. Not every coach is for everybody, but (it's good for) this situation, as far as generating a lot of momentum with the fan base, the boosters, the community and the team and how he's affected guys like myself in the league and he can bring those stories and those experiences down to every level."

More [deleted] Vermeil...
"This guy is an unbelievable complete package of teacher, leader, technician, disciplinarian, motivator, and historian. Nobody has done it better than this guy has."

[RGV Pony]

Spielman handled that with a lot of class. I don't know that I wouldve been composed enough to say "it was appropriate that you called today."

[PonyPride]

I know I wouldn't have handled it that well.
Awkward spot for Bobbi, but it sounds like she and Spielman handled it with grace and class.