While the University of Idaho football players and adminstration fume over Dennis Erickson bolting after one mere 4-8 campaign to take the job at Arizona State, the Idaho Statesman’s Dave Murphy submits “Erickson’s stated love-affair with the University of Idaho, the surrounding area and the football program sounded great. But the 59-year-old coach has always ” always ” been looking for the next job, the bigger payday, the fancier title.”
Arizona State will be Erickson’s sixth college coaching position ” seven if you count Idaho twice ” in addition to two stops in the NFL. That’s a track record that should take surprise off the table, as far as reactions go.
Erickson admitted he was burned by his job hopping, leaving a good situation at Oregon State for a dismal one with the San Francisco 49ers in 2003. But that didn’t stop him from using Idaho ” the one place willing to bring him in from the coaching abyss after he was fired in San Francisco ” as a stepping stone for the second time.
Whether Erickson’s 10-month layover at the Moscow campus was worth it for Idaho will take a long time to determine. What needs no second look, however, are the deep scars his departure has left.
To Vandal fans ” who were so giddy at the prospect of Erickson leading them to respectability and more in the Western Athletic Conference ” this year’s Grinch has silver hair and two national title rings.
Turning the Vandals from perennial losers ” Erickson™s 4-8 season was the program™s best since 2000 ” into WAC contenders just got harder.
Idaho needs a successful coach willing to get his hands dirty, someone who actually believes Idaho football is a destination job.
Not someone who just says it.