[Vision2020] One last jab at Erickson

[Carl Westberg]

>From the Seattle P-I:  Counterpoint: Erickson violates Idaho's trust

By JIM MOORE
P-I COLUMNIST

TEMPE, Ariz. -- If I'm Dennis Erickson, I can't look in the mirror, can't 
sleep at night, can't live with myself.

But I'm not -- I'm just another sportswriter at another "Dennis Erickson is 
hired by another school" news conference.

He's up there in front of the auditorium next to the athletic director who 
hired him, Lisa Love.

The new Arizona State coach said he is "really excited" to be here, but 
then, he was really excited to be in Moscow last year as coach of the 
Vandals, and really excited to be in San Francisco as coach of the 49ers 
before that.

I wasn't really excited. Noon news conferences interrupt potential golf 
games in the Valley of the Sun, and this one would have irked me regardless.

Ten months ago, Erickson, 59, made a long-term commitment to Idaho athletic 
director Rob Spear, and said if he left, it would be to Coeur d'Alene in 
retirement.

Nine months ago, I sat in Erickson's office and thought he finally felt 
content. He would elevate this Idaho team, and at his age that would be 
enough for him now.

"When you're a young coach, you want to win the biggest prize you can win," 
he said at the time. "But it's about building something and being proud of 
what you built."

Erickson got his first head coaching job at Idaho, and now he was coming 
back for a terrific reunion, or so it seemed.



For one partner, this swiftly changed when Love dumped Dirk Koetter and 
pursued Erickson to replace him, causing what must have been a strange scene 
in Moscow last weekend. Football recruits were in town to visit.

"It was awkward," Spear said.

Erickson was preparing to leave in a private plane bound for Phoenix when 
Spear walked into his office Saturday afternoon.

"Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?" Spear asked.

"No," Erickson said.

"What are you going to do?" Spear asked.

"I'm going to take the job," Erickson said.

The next day, while Erickson was no doubt exchanging handshakes with excited 
Sun Devil boosters, Spear had breakfast with Idaho recruits.

"Don't worry, keep your head up," he said. "We'll find a coach who will 
coach you up."

Then he met with the players and told them they had a right to be mad, but 
to channel their anger in the right way, toward the classroom and weight 
room.

Erickson had said the ladder-climbing and nationaltitle-chasing weren't 
important to him anymore, but Monday afternoon, they were again.

While Love talked about future greatness at ASU with Erickson on board, all 
I could think about were the jilted Vandals.

I've never understood his nomadic tendencies but could at least make a case 
for every move until now. Idaho to Wyoming, OK. Wyoming to Washington State, 
OK. Washington State to Miami, begrudgingly OK. Miami to the Seahawks, OK. 
Oregon State, OK. Oregon State to San Francisco, with reservations, OK.

But Idaho to ASU after committing long-term to a school that reached out for 
you? Not OK at all.

So I showed up as a party-crasher Monday, and the Go 2 Guy was not alone. 
Arizona State alums Dan and Barbara Driscoll of Phoenix arrived in protest, 
holding a sign that said: "Erickson, Go Home ... ASU Deserved Better."

"I'm amazed," said Dan Driscoll, who grew up in Moscow and is a Vandals fan, 
too. "You trust what the guy says and 10 months later, he's gone."

After a brief appearance, the Driscolls were ushered out because the news 
conference was not open to the public, but I'd bet if their sign had said: 
"Welcome to ASU, Dennis baby!" they could have stayed.

Inside the auditorium, when Love wasn't talking about her delusional 
visions, Erickson said all the same stuff he probably said when he was hired 
by Wyoming. I wondered what the words "commitment" and "loyalty" meant to 
him, and he danced around that one, giving a reply that didn't make sense.

Asked how he could justify making a commitment to Idaho and being here now, 
he said: "I justify it by saying it's an opportunity I have to get to the 
top."

What would he tell Idaho fans? The same thing.

After the formal news conference broke up, Love and Erickson were available 
for further questions. Under intense Go 2 Guy grilling, Love said she 
believes that Erickson is a man of integrity.

"I do," she said. "I understand his track record. I understand the logic of 
what he wants to do. I understand what he was working to achieve."

"But can you sympathize with the Vandals?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "It hurts because you lost such a talented person. That's 
not easy."

I caught the eye of the talented person and asked him again: "How could you 
do this?"

"There are a lot of things I don't want to get into," Erickson said. "Bottom 
line, it was the right opportunity for me."

"But do you realize how many people are upset that you left like that?" I 
asked.

"I'd be upset if they weren't (upset)," Erickson said. "I don't blame them. 
But I did what I felt I had to do."

Told that Spear and others probably don't think he's a man of his word, 
Erickson said: "That's not true. I'm a man of my word."

"But Spear said he would not have hired you if he didn't think he had a 
long-term commitment from you," I said.

"That's true, he probably wouldn't have," Erickson said.

I'm not sure what I expected in response, but certainly not that.

I told him on a coaching level, I could see why he made the move. Yet on a 
personal level, what he did was cold. People should keep their promises.

"But I did it as a coach," Erickson said.

With that, he rejoined the smiles and laughter in the upbeat part of the 
room, and I left disgusted, having new teams to root for -- Idaho and anyone 
playing ASU, including Washington.

Back in Moscow, the latest victim of Hurricane Dennis detailed the damage.

"He has alienated a lot of supporters," Spear said. "They're very unhappy 
with Dennis Erickson. I understand that, I'm not gonna lie. But the last 
thing I want to do is get in a pissin' match in the papers. I'm biting my 
tongue, trying to take the high ground here."

Spear is disappointed but found some humor in the situation. When Erickson 
returned, he was featured on posters around town that said: "He's back."

"Now what do we do?" Spear said. "Black it out with a marker and (write) 
'He's gone?' "

Rich Allen, president of the Vandals booster club, wonders how Erickson will 
explain himself to his friends in Moscow. I asked Erickson if he had a clear 
conscience.

"Yes I do," he said.

"Completely clear?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

You know, it was an opportunity. Here's the one I'm waiting for.

"I hope we get the opportunity to kick his butt someday," Allen said.

P-I columnist Jim Moore can be reached at 206-448-8013 or 
jimmoore at seattlepi.com. His columns appear Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

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