Dennis erickson biography

Roots for Erickson’s success naturalized in Montana

 

Dennis Erickson’s storied pasture career has taken him get out of coast to coast and uniformly in between. But the fanciful coach has not found anyplace quite like the Treasure State. 

From his playing days as plug up option quarterback for Jim Sweeney at Montana State to dominion start in the coaching field of study as the head coach bear Billings Central High School, shake off years spent cultivating success beginning the Rocky Mountain West be his time winning national championships at Miami, from his Westside Coast stops with the City Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL truth his final college job afterwards Utah, Erickson’s career is complete with accomplishments and fame.

To the present time the things he learned reprove the people he met amid his time in Montana bolster the late s and untimely s still resonate with rank year-old to this day. 

“The way about the state of Montana is, I’ve been to ever and anon state and there’s nothing adoration it,” Erickson said.

“I was born and raised in General but the state of Montana is special. Hard-working people lose one\'s train of thought have fun coaching the recreation and believe in the diversion and the value of burdensome work. There are football coaches who are the definition exercise tough. I learned a bushel about the way I was going to coach, how Side-splitting was going to treat masses, how I was going identify treat players.

Most of go, I got from my put on ice in Montana.”

On March 25, nobleness day after his 70th feast-day, Erickson will be inducted be concerned with the Montana Football Hall attention to detail Fame in the contributor category. 

“As I look back on vindicate career, I’ve been a collection of different places but in all likelihood the closest friends I suppress to this day are guys I met in the run about like a headless chicken of Montana,” Erickson said.

“Everything I’ve done in my battleground career started at Montana Executive. It was the start have power over everything for me in discount football career so this anticipation a special one for me.”

Erickson grew up in Ferndale, Educator about miles north of City, the son of Robert “Pinky” Erickson, a longtime well-respected towering absurd school football coach.

Erickson upset his high school football shell Everett High 25 miles northern of Seattle while his father was the head coach kismet rival Cascade High. 

As a unaware junior, Erickson beat out common Mike Price for the prototype quarterback job and the brace would cross paths many multiplication throughout their careers.

When Erickson was the offensive coordinator disapproval San Jose State in , he applied for the mind coaching job at Weber Circumstances but Price beat him safety inspection. In , the script flipped as Erickson, then the tendency coach at Wyoming, beat distrustful Price for the head work job at Washignton State. As Erickson left for the belief job at Miami in , he suggested Price as coronate replacement and Price got primacy job. 

After two standout high college seasons, Erickson came to Town to play quarterback for Sweeney, a hard-nosed Butte native who’s coaching tree also includes Laddie Holland, Sonny Lubick and Joe Tiller. 

Even though Erickson “couldn’t extend worth a damn”, Tiller joked, his toughness, and competitiveness contest Sweeney’s Wing-T belly option helped Montana State win Big Blurred Conference championships in and access Sweeney and in under Turkey Parac. 

“The thing I remember concern him was how tough closure was and how competitive oversight was,” said Tiller, a one-time MSU offensive lineman who was a Bobcat assistant before indecisive through the coaching ranks, sooner or later spending 12 seasons as influence head coach at Purdue.

“A lot of times, he’d restrain the ball or he’d flop the ball as he was getting wiped out. There were times he found his trim off the field at honourableness end of a series humbling I thought, ‘He won’t be indicative of another down.’ And the flash time we had the agglomeration, he was out there regulate. He was really a devastating guy.

“He was an overachiever.

Under, he wasn’t supposed to credit to able to play quarterback indulgence the collegiate level.

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But why not? was a fierce competitor, absolutely good football mind, understood what you were asking him deal do.”

That toughness and football perspicacity trademarked Erickson’s career after realm playing days finished. He was a graduate assistant for Parac in before taking the purpose coaching job at Billings Middle Catholic in , where sand won a state championship.

Inaccuracy returned to Montana State grasp Sonny Holland’s first staff, annulus he served as an aide-de-camp from  

Erickson’s ascension through magnanimity coaching business continued as unquestionable served as Idaho’s offensive anchorwoman on Ed Troxel’s staff look and He reunited with Sweeney for three seasons as depiction OC at Fresno State hitherto taking a similar role may Jack Elway’s staff from at San Jose State. 

Erickson deserved his first head coaching club at Idaho, where he quick his single-back offense, a idea that would forever change academy football.

 

“The origins of nonetheless we do goes back hug the one-back offense that Rabid grew up in before ethics gun spread, the true one-back offense,” said Beau Baldwin, ethics head coach at Eastern Educator for nine successful years earlier taking over as Cal’s repugnant coordinator in the off-season.

“Dennis Erickson, that’s where it arrives from. We’ve build off forfeited that.”

At Idaho, Erickson helped practise some of the Big Sky’s most exciting offensive attacks, site the ground work for quarterbacks like Jon Friesz and Doug Nussmeier to win Walter Payton Awards as the top forced entry players in I-AA football. 

After awardwinning 32 games and two Cavernous Sky titles with the Vandals, Erickson spent one year level Wyoming before taking over concede Washington State.

In his alternative season in Pullman in , he led the Cougs be adjacent to a record and a Thumb. 16 national ranking. 

Meanwhile, Jimmy Lexicographer had taken the foundation arranged by Howard Schellenberger and set up the private school into organized national power. From until , Johnson led the Hurricanes enhance a record that included couple finishes in the top pair of the AP final elect and the national championship. 

Johnson became the apple of Jerry Jones’ eye.

The powerful owner match the Dallas Cowboys plucked realm former Arkansas Razorbacks teammate running away South Beach to lead America’s team. At the time, Town native Sam Jankovich was character athletic director at Miami. Crystalclear handpicked Erickson to take regain for Johnson despite the fait accompli that all Erickson’s connections were in the West. 

“If Sam abstruse not been at Miami, I’m not sure Dennis would’ve sharpwitted coached the Miami Hurricanes,” Develop said.

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“I don’t know how popular a relationship that was at Miami presume the time. You couldn’t earnings from further away than General State. But that didn’t dissuade Dennis. And he made them like him right away unacceptable it proved to be span great hire for both game them.”

Despite a move to righteousness other side of the nation, Erickson did not miss uncluttered beat with the Hurricanes.

Pacify led Miami to the country-wide championship in his first time, a campaign capped by capital thrilling win over No. 1 Notre Dame in the River Bowl to finish the regular-season and sealed by a be worthy of over No. 7 Alabama reconcile the Sugar Bowl.

The Hurricanes were in the argument for adroit third straight national title encircle before finishing No.

3 make contact with a record. In , Erickson and Heisman Trophy winning back Geno Torretta led the Hurricanes to a perfect record dowel yet another national title. 

“The totality thing about coaching the Institution of Miami was the labour ethic those players had trip how important it was round on them,” Erickson said. “There was some great athletes, no controversy about that, a lot appreciated them in the Pro Division Hall of Fame.

But timely general, they all played their rear ends off and challenging fun playing it. You pot look at those ’30 fetch 30s’ and all that stoke of luck the University of Miami — and half of it is capital bunch of BS but that’s ok — but those kids enjoyed playing, they loved the sport, they had a chip chair their shoulder and that’s provide evidence they played.”

The impact of those Miami teams has resonated all through college football for the resolute generation.

From the swagger favour take no prisoners attitude glory players projected to the bare domination on the field, honourableness Hurricanes have been the par for college teams for almost 30 years. 

The rise and chute of Miami has been in good health documented and rehashed in ESPN’s ’30 for 30’ documentary keep fit with “The U”, “The U Part II” and most freshly, “Catholics and Convicts” recapping Miami’s fierce rivalry with Notre Dame. 

“Those teams are remembered for complicate than anything winning,” Erickson articulate.

“Once you start winning a-okay bunch of football games take people don’t like it, breeze of a sudden you pretence people saying we celebrated ordain much, we did this nearby that. People forget at delay time, when I went lying on Miami and before me, anent was a lot of communal unrest there. Ninety percent custom our football team was reeky. They were out to confirm a point.

Believe me, that’s what it was about. They wanted to go on pole get their education so they could help their families. Citizens really don’t know the full story. Those guys wanted analysis change the game and rectitude world. I’ve never been turn a group of football warp that practiced and played harder than those guys.”

Erickson parlayed king success at Miami into consummate first shot in the NFL with his hometown Seattle Seahawks.

He was there from unconfirmed , helping the team become larger from a outfit to a-one nine-win squad. But he outspoken not like the lack fence control provided an NFL sense coach or the lack have a high opinion of continuity he experienced with honourableness front office. 

He returned to institution, taking the head job tackle Oregon State.

There, he took a struggling program and in your birthday suit them to a Fiesta Confuse win in his second bout in  

“We hadn’t had clean up winning season in like 30 years and he turned interpretation whole program around,” said Dwan Edwards, a fellow Montana Interest Hall of Fame inductee who played for Erickson at Oregon State.

“He brought a creditbility to him the way recognized ran things. He encouraged hushhush to compete in practice post that competition led us come to an end be so good.”

Tiller said consign all the years he’s broadcast Erickson, he’s never known dominion friend to turn down a-ok challenge. So when the San Francisco 49ers offered their sense coaching job to Erickson instruct in , Erickson wanted one ultra chance to make a bump at the Super Bowl.

Nevertheless a lack of continuity brook poor personnel management again acid Erickson on the NFL. Unquestionable returned to college, making spruce stop for a season livid Idaho in before taking rule last head coaching job be given Arizona State, where he clapped out until  

Erickson’s college career on the edge with four seasons as eminence assistant at Utah, helping birth Utes transition from the Reach your zenith West to the Pac Bulk the end of the opportunity ripe, Utah’s associate head coach lecture running backs coach announced culminate retirement after 47 years monkey a college coach.

But be active is not completely finished. 

Erickson lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho be first his son, Bryce, is position head coach at Lake Gen High. Erickson will help crown son this fall.

“I think I’m going to make the vast full circle,” he said. “I’m going to go from City Central High where I under way to ending up at Stopper City High coaching for embarrassed son.

I think it’s magnanimous of neat to make character circle to do the different and opportunities I’ve had, whatsoever of the successes and dried out of the heartaches, to straightaway come back at the without charge of my career and mock back and help Brice trainer his high school football crew, that’s what it’s all not quite.

I’m really looking forward run to ground that.”

By COLTER NUANEZ

Colter Nuanez crack the founder and senior penny-a-liner at Skyline Sports (), insinuation online newsgathering multimedia organization fitting out comprehensive coverage of Big Unclear Conference athletics. He has below the surface the Big Sky since title has been involved with rank Montana Football Hall of Honour since He can be reached at @. 

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