Idaho Players Angry at Erickson
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James Joyner | Monday, December 11, 2006 |
Dennis Errickson left behind some bruised feelings in Moscow, Idaho.
Athletic director Rob Spears said the comments to him had generally been “very angry [about Erickson leaving] and very supportive of the program. I don’t know if you could say it will galvanize us, but I do think we have a chance to turn a negative into a positive.”
Spears would not give a timetable for the Vandals’ third search for a football coach in four years. “I’m going to find somebody that not only understands Idaho but appreciates the university and what a fine institution we have,” he said. “It’s going to be done when it’s done.”
Whoever takes the job will face some skeptical players. “It was kind of weird with Erickson talking and telling us he thinks he can win a national championship at Arizona State. It makes us realize the doubt he had in us,” Bird said. “I guess he has to do what he has to do. We just didn’t expect it, but it’s certainly something we can get over. Hopefully they can get a guy in here that genuinely cares about us and wants to build a program. The hardest thing is to find a guy that isn’t going to use us and not use the school as a stepping stone.”
That’s not going to happen. Idaho is a stepping stone. Sorry, guys.
Ironically, Erickson’s first stint as a head coach was with the Vandals from 1982-85. It has been a long journey since:
| Dennis Erickson will be the next head coach at Arizona State, according to the Idaho athletic director. He has amassed a 149-64-1 career record in 18 seasons at the collegiate level and a 40-56 record in six seasons in the NFL. | ||
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My problem isn’t coaches using lesser schools to build up resumes to get more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. Coaching is a job, after all. But they should not be allowed to sell players on four years together and then leave them, not only in a lurch, but stuck at that school under NCAA rules. If coaches can leave whenever they get a better offer, student-athletes should have the same right.
