"But my goodness, the man has served his sentence.
Pflugrad has been passed over for roughly 25 coaching jobs.
So passionate is the 57-year-old about coaching and guiding young men, he's in his second year as offensive coordinator at a place in Phoenix known as "Last Chance U."
Actually it's a juco called Phoenix College. There he and head coach Dan Cozzetto do pretty much everything from laundry and painting fields to serving as psychiatrists, social workers and academic advisers for players who have been turned away by other junior colleges.
They deal with player hardships most of us can't fathom, like being homeless. The goal posts on their practice field are made of PVC pipe because of a lack of funds. The program is in clear and present danger of being cut.
"But these young men need us in their lives -- I don't know if I could ever say that anywhere else," said Pflugrad, who has helped guide the Bears from a winless season to a 5-3 mark this fall. "Sure there are times players need you when you're the coach at Montana or a position coach. But so many of our players here, they don't have anything else in their lives. They don't have a family. They don't have a place to go."
Each Wednesday in the offseason, Pflugrad and Cozzetto bring in a guest speaker to address their players on life. Police officers, judges, ministers, politicians, ex-players, the head of a SWAT team -- you name it and the Bears' coaching staff has probably at least considered it.
"Realistically, if the kids weren't here, I don't know where they'd be," Pflugrad offered. "I think a lot of them would be in gangs. We sit in the inner city just north of downtown. It's not like going to the University of Montana right there near the Rattlesnake."
http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/speltz-former-griz-coach-pflugrad-deserves-better/article_11a69570-4803-5b42-afa9-450d63bc97af.html
Pflugrad has been passed over for roughly 25 coaching jobs.
So passionate is the 57-year-old about coaching and guiding young men, he's in his second year as offensive coordinator at a place in Phoenix known as "Last Chance U."
Actually it's a juco called Phoenix College. There he and head coach Dan Cozzetto do pretty much everything from laundry and painting fields to serving as psychiatrists, social workers and academic advisers for players who have been turned away by other junior colleges.
They deal with player hardships most of us can't fathom, like being homeless. The goal posts on their practice field are made of PVC pipe because of a lack of funds. The program is in clear and present danger of being cut.
"But these young men need us in their lives -- I don't know if I could ever say that anywhere else," said Pflugrad, who has helped guide the Bears from a winless season to a 5-3 mark this fall. "Sure there are times players need you when you're the coach at Montana or a position coach. But so many of our players here, they don't have anything else in their lives. They don't have a family. They don't have a place to go."
Each Wednesday in the offseason, Pflugrad and Cozzetto bring in a guest speaker to address their players on life. Police officers, judges, ministers, politicians, ex-players, the head of a SWAT team -- you name it and the Bears' coaching staff has probably at least considered it.
"Realistically, if the kids weren't here, I don't know where they'd be," Pflugrad offered. "I think a lot of them would be in gangs. We sit in the inner city just north of downtown. It's not like going to the University of Montana right there near the Rattlesnake."
http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/speltz-former-griz-coach-pflugrad-deserves-better/article_11a69570-4803-5b42-afa9-450d63bc97af.html
