ASU fires Koetter, hires Erickson

[starBUCKS]

Norm Chow ???

ASU interested in Titans assistant Chow By Scott Bordow, TribuneNovember 29, 2006

Norm ChowArizona State?s search for a football coach has found its way to Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow. A source confirmed Wednesday ASU has contacted Chow.Related LinksWho should be the next ASU football coach?
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Also, word of the Sun Devils? interest in Chow spread through the Titans? offices.

Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher, however, said late Wednesday night no one at ASU had asked him for permission to talk to Chow, as would be the protocol.

?If there is any interest in any of our coaches, they would contact them, then the coaches would come to me about it, and no one has contacted anyone,? Fisher said. ?These coaches are here and want to be here.?

Lisa Love, the Sun Devils? vice president of athletics, will not comment on her search until a coach is hired.

Chow couldn?t be reached for comment.

Love and Chow have a shared past. She was an administrator at USC when he was the offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll.

Chow, 60, long has wanted a head coaching job. North Carolina State reportedly is interested in his services as well, but Chow said through a Titans spokesman Wednesday he hadn?t been contacted by the Wolfpack.

Chow coached at the collegiate level for 32 years and tutored three Heisman Trophy winners: Brigham Young University?s Ty Detmer, and USC?s Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

It?s unclear whether Love has scheduled an interview with Chow.

Meanwhile, former Cardinals head coach and current Titans assistant Dave McGinnis has told friends his interest in ASU?s job will wane if he?s just one of several candidates in a prolonged interview process.

 

[jlb1705]

They could bring back John Cooper, that is if there's no animosity left from their loss in one of the few big games Coop was actually able to win as a Buckeye.

 

[bkochmc]

They could bring back John Cooper, that is if there's no animosity left from their loss in one of the few big games Coop was actually able to win as a Buckeye.

It had to burn a lot of 'Devils that their former coach denied them their one chance at a recognized title (1975 received the title from National Championship Foundation and Sporting News, 1970 from Poling).

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

It had to burn a lot of 'Devils that their former coach denied them their one chance at a recognized title (1975 received the title from National Championship Foundation and Sporting News, 1970 from Poling).

I'm sure it burns hard-core Sun Devils. All 5 of them.

My first job after leaving Ohio State was in The Valley of the Sun. I flew from Columbus to Phoenix on the day after Christmas 1989. It was 17 below in Columbus when the first plane took off. It was 70 degrees in Phoenix when the second leg flight landed. That was the first sign that I was a long way from "home".

The second sign came on my first drive to work. There was a billboard advertising ASU football SEASON tickets. Then there were the newspaper ads for SEASON tickets. Then there were the TV ads offering a signed football, a jersey and other swag for buying SEASON tickets. Up to that point in my life I honestly had no clue that there were places on earth where they had to MARKET the football program.

It must suck to be the fan of a team that coaches leave for better opportunities. We are blessed and yes, a little spoiled. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[starBUCKS]

No mention of English





ASU search likely down to 6

Titans offensive coordinator Chow re-emerges as possible candidate

Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 7, 2006 12:00 AM
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The storm before the calm struck Wednesday in the Arizona State football coaching search.

A dizzying and contradictory array of media and Internet reports about who's in and who's out only served to confuse the truth and make it easier for Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love to keep her secret.

Love is not expected to name Dirk Koetter's replacement today. The timing beyond that remains unclear, although an announcement by Monday at the latest seems likely. advertisement

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The most reliable information narrows the search to six.

Whether Norm Chow, Dennis Erickson, Steve Mariucci, Mike Martz, Mike Price and Mike Riley are all still in play or Love is working on an even shorter list is difficult to assess.

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Chow re-emerged in the mix Wednesday night after withdrawing from the North Carolina State search earlier in the day. Chow is described as a "very strong candidate" by a source.

Oregon State coach Riley and former NFL coach Mariucci also surfaced as viable candidates.

Oregon State Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis could not be reached for comment on whether Love has sought permission to speak with Riley.

Mariucci, working the NFL Network, was not available for comment. He was reported last month by HOF mag.com to be a candidate to replace Dennis Green if the Cardinals make a change.

Sources said that Price, who has talked with Love, is not a front-runner primarily because of being fired before coaching a game at Alabama in 2003 due to excessive drinking and behavior at a strip club.

Idaho coach Erickson similarly might have trouble explaining a 1995 DUI arrest to ASU President Michael Crow. Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear said again Wednesday that he has not been contacted by Love.

Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson continued to tell the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram that he has not been contacted about jobs at ASU or Miami. Patterson has a $1 million buyout in his contract that almost certainly precludes ASU from pursuing him.

The common threads among those still in the running is their age (50-plus) and extensive experience. Only Chow has not been a head coach, but he has 32 years of college coaching, mostly as an offensive coordinator, including on three national championship teams.

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[starBUCKS]

ASU will conduct more interviews this weekend


Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 8, 2006 10:40 AM
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The new Arizona State football coach will not be named today and perhaps not until early next week.

One or more of the leading candidates -- Mike Price, Dennis Erickson and Mike Riley -- could be interviewed over the weekend with an announcement on Monday.

Some believe Texas-El Paso coach Price is the front runner. Others lean towards Idaho head coach Dennis Erickson. They are the 10th and 11th winningest active Division I-A coaches. Erickson won two national championships at Miami and also was an NFL head coach. advertisement

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Erickson and Oregon State's Riley were among the leading choices at USC in 2000 but didn't take the job, which went to Pete Carroll. ASU Athletic Director Lisa Love was associate AD at USC during that search.

Riley also knows Love, former USC women's volleyball coach, from his days as USC offensive coordinator from 1993-96.

Former ASU Athletic Director Gene Smith talked to Erickson in 2000 about his football opening. Erickson opted against USC and ASU and signed a seven-year contract with Oregon State then left in 2003 for the San Francisco 49ers.

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[fourteenandoh]

So Price went out got boozed up and messed around with some hookers. Give the guy a break and hire him. I think he would be great at ASU. He's got my vote (for whatever that's worth)

 

[CleveBucks]

Price would go nuts at ASU. Talk about hot coeds...

 

[starBUCKS]

Erickson moves front and center

Idaho coach is latest ASU target

Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Dennis Erickson moved to the forefront Friday in the search for a new Arizona State football coach.

ASU Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love formally asked for permission to interview Erickson, who just completed the first year of his second stop at Idaho. "I don't know any of the details on their end," Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear told the Idaho Spokesman Review. Spear granted the request.

Erickson did not return phone messages on Friday. advertisement

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Sources, including some who believed on Thursday that Texas-El Paso coach Mike Price would get the job, said that Erickson would return to the Pac-10 after one season at Idaho. Erickson coached at Washington State and Oregon State and had his greatest success in between when he won two national championships in six seasons at Miami.

UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull had not received a similar request from Love to speak with Price as of early Friday evening. Oregon State Athletic Director Bob De Carolis said that coach Mike Riley was no longer an ASU candidate.

"He (Riley) told me he had no interest in the job but out of respect to Lisa he would at least take the phone call," De Carolis told the Oregonian. Riley and Love worked together at USC from 1993-96.

No one other than Erickson is known to still be in the running to replace Dirk Koetter. Love kept Herb Sendek under cover until almost the end of her men's basketball hiring search last spring.

Former ASU quarterback Danny White met with Love about his interest in being on the staff if Price or former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis is hired, sources said. White, coach/general manager of the Arena League Utah Blaze, could not be reached for comment.

A news conference announcing ASU's 22nd head football coach still is not scheduled but expected by Monday.

Erickson, 59, returned to college football this year after an unsuccessful second try in the NFL. He was 9-23 in two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and was fired after the 2004 season with three years left on a $12.5 million contract.

Dan Cozzetto, ASU offensive coordinator under Bruce Snyder from 1992-99, holds the same position under Erickson at Idaho.

Erickson has four years left on his Idaho contract, paying $214,643 annually plus incentives. His buyout ranges from $50,000 to $150,000 depending on when he leaves.

ASU will pay Koetter roughly $2.85 million for the final three years of his contract, paying a guaranteed $950,000. The exact amount of Koetter's payout still is not available.

Erickson is 148-65-1 in 18 college seasons.

Like Price, Erickson would come with baggage.

He had a DUI arrest in 1995 when he was coaching the Seattle Seahawks. Miami received serious NCAA sanctions after Erickson left for the Seahawks for inappropriate use of Pell Grant money and other charges. The Hurricanes were banned from postseason play for a year, lost 24 scholarships in a two-year period and were placed on three-year probation.

The ASU athletic department currently is on NCAA probation through Nov. 9, 2007 for impermissible financial aid and lack of institutional control because of illegal benefits received by former tailback Loren Wade and financial aid monitoring.

Erickson's Miami and Oregon State teams also received criticism for off-field incidents as well as on-field behavior and penalties.

Former ASU Athletic Director Gene Smith tried to hire Erickson in 2000. Erickson also turned down USC, where Love then was associate athletic director, that season and signed a seven-year, $7 million contract with Oregon State. He stayed in Corvallis, Ore. through 2002 before going to the 49ers.



How does a coach that has a been extremly inconsistent become a hot commodity?
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[BB73]

usatoday

Arizona State brings in Dennis Erickson as football coach

By Ronen Zilberman, AP

Arizona State will be the fifth college stop during Dennis Erickson's coaching career.


PHOENIX (AP) - Dennis Erickson has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said Saturday night.

The 59-year-old Erickson spent one season at Idaho in his second stint at the school, going 4-8. He led Miami to two national titles, also has been a head coach at Wyoming, Washington State and Oregon State and coached Seattle and San Francisco in the NFL.

Erickson has a 149-64-1 record in 18 seasons as a college coach. At Oregon State, he helped turn one of the game's most unsuccessful programs into a winner, coaching the Beavers to a Fiesta Bowl triumph over Notre Dame.

Arizona State sports information director Mark Brand had no comment, but Spear said Erickson told him Saturday afternoon that he was accepting the Sun Devils' job.

Arizona State must pay a $150,000 buyout to Idaho. Erickson had signed a five-year deal, and Spear said he was "very disappointed" in the coach's decision to leave after only one season.

"Had we known that we were going to end up in this situation we would never have gone down that road," Spear said. "We made a commitment and we thought we had a commitment from the other end, but I wish Dennis Erickson the best."

Erickson replaces Dirk Koetter, who was fired after going 40-33 in six seasons. Koetter will coach the Sun Devils against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Well the good news is, he'll pose a problem for USC in the Pac10 rather quickly.

Bad news is it will only last untill the inevetible NCAA probation.

 

[buckeyeboy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2692505

Idaho AD says Erickson leaving for Arizona State

Associated Press





PHOENIX -- Dennis Erickson has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said Saturday night.
The 59-year-old Erickson spent one season at Idaho in his second stint at the school, going 4-8. He led Miami to two national titles, also has been a head coach at Wyoming, Washington State and Oregon State and coached Seattle and San Francisco in the NFL.
Erickson has a 149-64-1 record in 18 seasons as a college coach. At Oregon State, he took over a program that had an NCAA Division I-record 28 straight losing seasons. His first team in Corvallis went 7-5 and made an Oahu Bowl appearance. His second Beavers' team routed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl to cap an 11-1 season.

Arizona State sports information director Mark Brand had no comment, but Spear said Erickson told him Saturday afternoon that he was accepting the Sun Devils' job.
Athletic director Lisa Love had conducted a secretive search since firing Dirk Koetter, but Erickson's name surfaced as a candidate almost immediately.

Arizona State must pay a $150,000 buyout to Idaho, far less than would have been required in a higher-profile football program. Erickson had signed a five-year deal, and Spear said he was "very disappointed" in the coach's decision to leave after only one season.

"Had we known that we were going to end up in this situation we would never have gone down that road," Spear told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We made a commitment and we thought we had a commitment from the other end, but I wish Dennis Erickson the best."

Erickson replaces Dirk Koetter, who was fired after going 40-33 in six seasons. Koetter will coach the Sun Devils against Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.

Erickson coached the Seahawks from 1995 through 1998, compiling a 31-33 record. He returned to the NFL for two seasons with San Francisco. His first 49ers team went 7-9 in 2003, but he was fired after a 2-14 record in 2004.

A year ago, Erickson returned to where he started his head coaching career, vowing to stay at Idaho to rebuild the Vandals' long-suffering program. But the Sun Devils' job apparently was too good to resist.

Erickson's first head coaching job was with Idaho from 1982 through 1985. The former Montana State quarterback coached one season at Wyoming and two at Washington State before moving to Miami.

Under Erickson, the Hurricanes went 63-9 in six seasons and won national championships in 1989 and 1991.
The Sun Devils were 7-5 and are in a bowl game for the third year in a row. Love gave Koetter a three-year, $2.85 million contract extension a year ago, but she decided this season that he couldn't take the program to the level she wants it to be.

Koetter's Sun Devils were 2-19 against ranked teams, 0-12 against Pac-10 teams in California and 21-28 in the Pac-10 overall.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Sun Devils turn to Erickson
Sunday, December 10, 2006

ASSOCIATED PRESS



Dennis Erickson has accepted the coaching job at Arizona State, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said last night.
Erickson, 59, spent one season at Idaho in his second stint at the school, going 4-8.
He led the University of Miami to two national titles and also has been coach at Wyoming, Washington State and Oregon State, and Seattle and San Francisco in the NFL.
Erickson has a 149-64-1 record in 18 seasons as a college coach. At Oregon State, he helped turn one of the game?s most unsuccessful programs into a winner, coaching the Beavers to a Fiesta Bowl triumph over Notre Dame.
Arizona State must pay a $150,000 buyout to Idaho. Erickson had signed a five-year deal, and Spear said he was "very disappointed" in the coach?s decision to leave after only one season.
"Had we known that we were going to end up in this situation we would never have gone down that road," Spear said. Erickson replaces Dirk Koetter, who was fired after going 40-33 in six seasons. Koetter will coach the Sun Devils against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.

 

[starBUCKS]

Dennis Erickson is ... OK

12/10/2006 01:39:30

As a safety valve retread, Dennis Erickson is a wonderful choice.
But Arizona State University's ambitious coaching search had to have someone and something better in mind, didn't they?
I admit it. I'm a bit intrigued. But I'm also a bit baffled. This could not have been the splash they were hoping to make.
Look, we all know that Erickson knows how to coach and he knows how to win. He brings a higher ceiling and a better pedigree than his main competitor for the job (and former high school teammate), Mike Price.
Wherever he's been, Erickson has ramped up the athleticism. He won two national championships at Miami, and he had that one great season at Oregon State.
He will look for talent first and character second. He will look for speed and fury and teams that play fast. He will tap heavily into junior college players because they will help him win NOW.
And while socializing with the boosters will be one of his specialties, don't expect him to bleed maroon and gold. Dennis Erickson doesn't do roots...but he can get you in some trouble.
Whether he was to blame or not, he left quite a mess at Miami. He tried the NFL twice. And Erickson just bailed on his Idaho homecoming one year after the school threw him a lifeline, when his career options were few.
The athletic director there is a bit baffled, too.
So, will he win and can he do it without the scent and stains of trouble? And does he still have any magic left? A guy I know worked the sidelines during Erickson's stint with the 49ers, and said he was a little past his prime, a la Dennis Green.
Personally, I think Erickson could be rejuvenated by this late-career opportunity, sort of like Bobby Knight showing up in Lubbock, Texas. And if ASU's goal is simply to play in a BCS bowl game sometime in the next six years, then Erickson may be just the guy to deliver.
But I still think Dave McGinnis was the best candidate. His people skills are as good as they get, and his down-home BS would've done wonders in living rooms across America, particularly Texas.
Alas, we will never know just how good Coach Mac would've been as a college recruiter working in Tempe. We'll never know if he would've lured Norm Chow or Danny White as his offensive coordinator. We'll never know because ASU athletic director Lisa Love simply wasn't interested.
But I admit it. I'm interested to see how a renegade like Erickson, who builds lawless teams that run like the wind and hit like thunder, will fit in to a team almost ready to win.
I'm curious to see how he plays among a win-at-all costs fan base that would trade their souls for a Rose Bowl, and in the long run, that's just what ASU may have done in the hiring of Erickson.
But ASU officials believe the new safeguards in place - implemented after Loren Wade's murder of Brandon Falkner - will help keep the Erickson train squarely on the rails. And others wonder what why we're all so concerned.
After all, one player killed a former player under the old regime. How bad can it get?


Love responds to masses with hiring


Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 10, 2006 12:00 AM
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Hiring a coach with two national championships should feel better than this.

Dennis Erickson, who has been hired by Arizona State according to Idaho's athletic director, will come to Tempe with enough baggage to require a porter. His coaching record definitely has that "wow factor," but so does his off-the-field record.

Does that mean this is a bad hire? No, just a risky one. advertisement

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Listen, Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love was simply responding to the masses.

You were tired of mediocrity.

You were tired of losing to ranked teams.

You weren't particularly bothered by some of the recent administration's off-the-field issues. When troubling details emerged about Loren Wade's stay at ASU, Sun Devils fans had more venom for the media than the university.

In Erickson, Love is giving fans exactly what they want.

Erickson will win. I don't care what kind of pipeline of talent he walked into at Miami, winning one national championship, let alone two, is remarkable.

And I don't care if Erickson inherited Mike Riley's players at Oregon State, he had to coach them to an elite level. The Beavers had endured 28 straight losing seasons before he arrived in 1999.

During Erickson's four seasons, Oregon State went 31-17 and appeared in three bowl games, including the Fiesta Bowl in 2000. The Beavers blasted Notre Dame 41-9 and finished fourth in the Associated Press poll.

His success hasn't come without controversy.

Erickson resigned under pressure from Miami in 1994, and the athletic program was hit with probation that cost them 31 scholarships. When Butch Davis took over, he told the Miami Herald that players were not disciplined for missing practices and classes.

Former athletic director Dave Maggard told the newspaper that "Dennis was too lenient. He needed some backbone. He has a big problem disciplining the team."

Miami's renegade reputation thrived under Erickson. It's hard to forget the 1991 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas, when the Hurricanes where slapped with 10 penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls.

There also was the matter of a DUI in 1995.

To Erickson's defense, he has done little to be criticized about in recent years, unless you're talking loyalty.

In April, when Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear was asked about the likelihood of newly hired Erickson bolting early for another job, he admitted to the Seattle Times he had considered the possibility.

"I'd be silly to say it didn't cross my mind," he said. "But I really think Dennis is sincere about wanting to contribute back to the University of Idaho."

That's history now. Erickson deserves a clean slate. You would think at 59, he has learned from his mistakes and can build on all the positives.

ASU fans should be excited to have a coach that knows what it takes to win a national championship. And let's not forget Southern California wanted him, too, but had to "settle" for Pete Carroll. Surely, that helped drive Love's decision.

If Erickson succeeds, Love looks like a genius. If not, public perception quickly will sour.

Either way, most ASU fans have no right to complain. Love delivered exactly what they wanted.


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[methomps]

Bad is back.