December 10, 2006
Coaching Update: Erickson to Arizona State; Rodriguez Declines Bama
You have to give credit to Arizona State for solving their coaching problem quickly and with what could be a great hire, former Miami and Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson. Erickson spent the last year as head coach of Idaho, where he started his coaching career in the mid-80s. He had a five year contract there and bolted when the chance to coach in the Pac-10 again came around. The cost for ASU to buy out his Idaho contract, $150,000, is peanuts compared to what they would have had to pay were he at a higher profile school. Idaho officials are pretty ticked off.
Erickson coached Miami to a pair of titles in 89 and 91, after which he jumped to the NFL where he stunk up two jobs in Seattle and San Francisco. In between he took Oregon State out of a record string of losing seasons to a bowl game, and in his second year a top 10 ranking, 11-1 record, and a win over Notre Dame in a BCS bowl. Erickson has proven he is a great college football coach. Arizona State is lucky. The Pac-10 just got tougher. We have ASU at home next year.
Not so lucky are Bama fans. Rich Rodriguez, head coach of West Virginia, has turned down an offer from Alabama to be their next head coach. It’s another embarrassing news item for the once proud football program. The way Bama’s search has been handled, so publicly with leaks at every turn, is in stark contrast to the more secretive and professional way ASU handled theirs. And their offer to Erickson was only announced when the deal was signed. Bama is having it tough no doubt. We know how it is … although now we have Ben Ball.
