Expect the expected as University of Idaho names football coach
With all due respect to the legions of University of Idaho fans and alumni in the region, did you really think Dennis Erickson was going to be the Vandals' head coach for much longer than what he was?
After all, Erickson is the anti-Joe Paterno. In the coaching fraternity, he's a nomad's nomad. That's not a bad thing, just a reality of being a hot coaching commodity. His ascension up the coaching ladder is one of the most swift and perfect journeys imaginable, ending with a national championship ring.
It started at Idaho in the early '80s, when his wide-open style earned his offense the nickname "Erickson's Air Express," which caught the eye of the University of Wyoming, where he stayed for one year before moving to Washington State, where he spent two years before heading to the University of Miami, where his meteoric rise hit its zenith.
For those scoring this at home, in just over a decade, the red-hot coaching prospect went from the Big Sky Conference, to the WAC, to the Pac-10, to the Big East. The next logical step up the coaching hierarchy was the NFL, so off he went.
He captained the Seahawks for four years, before calling it the "No Fun League" and heading back to the Pac-10 for stop no. 2, a lengthy — if you will — four-year stint with the Oregon State Beavers. After that it was back to the NFL for a two-year stint with San Francisco — maybe the only stop on the tour that wasn't deemed successful.
Which led him back to Idaho again, where he stayed for one season. Surprise! Just long enough to give long-suffering fans a false jolt of hope, before jettisoning off to warm and sunny Arizona State University. So there you have the Cliff notes version of the Dennis Erickson resume, a highly successful one at that.
? Can you really blame the guy?
As much as it might sting to the Vandal faithful, can you really blame Erickson's decision? Let's contrast and compare a few of the differences between the job he just left and the job he just accepted.
First, Erickson is an avid golfer. He could play the fabled University course, at least when it was warm enough, or one of the small handful of other courses in and around Moscow. Or, he could golf year-round and have his choice of hundreds of spectacular courses, each happy to 'comp' his round.
Advantage Arizona State.
Second, he could play his home games in the Kibbie Dome, where even with a ranked team in town, will never get more than about 17,000 for a game. At lesser games, during quiet moments, you can even hear the hum of the florescent lights buzzing overhead. Or, he could play his games at 78,000-seat Sun Devil Stadium, where even in November, it's usually sunny and 85 degrees.
Advantage Arizona State.
Third, coaching salary.
Advantage Arizona State.
I could go on and talk about conferences, BCS, facilities, perks, exposure, etc …, but I think you get the picture.
Where you can fault him is for misleading not just an entire town, but the kids in the locker room. I can guarantee you when he was recruiting prospects to Idaho last year, he wasn't in their living rooms telling them "yeah, I plan to hang around here for one year, and then fly off to greener pastures, but don't let that influence your decision to come to Moscow." But then again, in the ever-changing carousel that is college coaching, how could he have known such a great job was going to become available this year. Besides, everybody else seems to be doing it.
? The more things change, the more they stay the same
It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't proposition when selecting the next coach at U of I. Good or bad, young or old, up-and-comer or old guard — the reality is that whoever is named will probably not stay there very long.
Mike Kramer, former Vandal offensive lineman and current head coach at Montana State of the Big Sky Conference, is one of the prospects being talked about to replace Erickson. If he does well and leads the Vandals to the upper-echelon of the WAC, rest assured the big schools will come calling, checkbooks in hand. And for a young coach on the way up, how can you begrudge him if he moves on? If he doesn't do so well, maybe has four more years of mediocrity, rest assured folks will be calling for his head — call it the nature of the beast.
John L. Smith, himself a former Vandal coach who climbed the ladder to Louisville and then Michigan State, is also a candidate. Unlike Kramer, he might be on his way back down the coaching ladder. Nonetheless, should he take the job and do well, how long before the Pac-10 comes calling?
Eric Plummer is the sports editor at the Daily Bee. For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at 263-9534, ext. 226, or by e-mail at eplummer@cdapress.com.