Obviously I never played football or even came within 20 yards of the man, but how the stories did fly!  Most of us know that he was sent to Death Row in Huntsville, and is now released from prison after an attempt to retry him was tossed out of court.  This is a tangled web!  Can any of you football dudes or anyone else who knew him throw any light on the subject, like what REALLY happened?  Was he that brutal?  I am in touch with Mike Byrne (CO69) and Mike's tales make Atilla the Hun look like an altar server next to Vernon ...

Shirley,  I spent more time with the man than anyone from school, because he was "my" offensive line coach at Lamar University.  So I was lucky enough to see him almost every day from 1971 - 1975.

Let me just say that while in he was our coach in High School, he was "motivated"  and we had to learn his way of doing things. And when we didn't....we paid for it!  We did "shit drills" all the time..those are just to wear you down to almost the point of exhaustion.  He was a physical coach, he wouldn't last long in todays world of coaching, and he cause quite a stir even back in the 60's & 70's.

I think he tried to do some of the same stuff his first year a Lamar, and it didn't go over to well.  When I got there in the fall of 71. It was a little different.  He was still tough, he would still yell, and get right up in your face! But there was not too much of the physical abuse going on.  No, grabbing your facemask and tossing you around like a rag doll.  Now we still did shit drills when he wasn't please with the way we played.  If you said you could do something and you didn't do it...he made you pay for it. 

I only had little interaction with him outside of the coaching/player relations.  I would run into him every now and than at a bar or on one occasion at a fraternity house.  He was drunk, he was obnoxious, he was rude, and after about an hour he got into it with some little guy who gave him some grief about something.  Well, let me just say, that the frat house cleaned out, the fridge was sideways on the floor, the ceiling lamp was gone, and All I can remember him saying was "Just let me hit him one time that's all I'll need", we told him he would go to jail, he said "I've been there before!"  Ha!  I have no idea what for, but I guess I will just take him at his word.

Could he do something like murder two people? I would have never thought so. I was shocked, and saddened to hear about it.  And to try and do it all for $$$$!  Crazy!  I thought he was smarter than all that.  I had met his wife at the time, and she was very nice.  I think I probably knew the "girlfriend" whose parents were killed, as she was a secretary at Lamar for awhile in the Athletic Dept.  But I do not remember her!

He was one tough SOB!  He had a huge impact in my life, he got me a free college education! He was a firm believer of giving everything you had out on the football field.  I know what has happened to him, and like I said it is possible that he did those things.  I don't want to believe he did, but as they say  "Facts is facts"!  It took him over 10 years to find a judge that would grant him a new trial, and his defense lawyer didn't even start seeing his ex-wife till well after he was already in jail.  What can I say!  I have not seen or heard from him since I left Lamar in 75.  I know he has contacted some of my old football team since he got out looking for references for jobs, but I do not know how successful he has been in those area's.  I heard he got religion while in jail, but I don't know for sure.  As well we all know how rumors go!  I hope he did!

Some good tales, on par with what I have read and heard from other people.  There were obviously some strange personalities inside of him, one of them pretty dark.  Definitely too much testosterone in his system.  His life would probably make a pretty entertaining movie!  I can't figure out if he did it either.