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Rice University Athletics
Vinklarek Named Offensive Line Coach
2/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 26, 2009
Rice head football coach David Bailiff announced on Friday that Ronnie Vinklarek has joined the Owls' staff as the new offensive line coach.
Vinklarek, 49, has 18 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and professional level. He is no stranger to the Houston area or Conference USA, having coached the linemen at the University of Houston from1988-93 and at SMU from 2004-07. He also coached at the high school level in Houston, coaching the defensive line at Spring Branch High School in 1983-84.
While at Houston, he mentored the offensive line that protected Andre Ware during his Heisman Trophy winning season (1889) and was selected to coach in the 1990 Blue-Gray Game.
Vinklarek coached in the NFL for three seasons. He broke into the league in 2000 with the Tennessee Titans as their defensive quality control, linebackers and special teams coach. He moved on to the Buffalo Bills in 2001 and coached their offensive line for two seasons. Last season, he coaches the offensive line for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL.
Vinklarek will hit the ground running, as the Owls will open their 2009 Spring practice schedule on Monday, March 9.
