Where did he come from?I didn't even know he was being considered for the job?What happened to Ted Cottrell and Greg Blache?
If that's true: Wow. I thought he would have been happy to stay at Oregon State, but apparently he wants to prove himself in the NFL. Wow.
Looks like Corvallis is no match for the allure of cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge and a NFL franchise that historically has shown that it knows what it's doing.
Didn't the NFL do away with the "Chucky Clause"? No more can you trade a coach for darft picks and cash. So what is up with the NFL's compensation rules then? and where do they really apply? Seahawks just added a GM, who came from the PHX Cardinals, of all places. This guy was invlved with 5-6 superbowls while working with the Bills and Broncos. He is a Washington native with strong ties to the community since his high school playing days, through college... So, Holgren has acepted his new role of concentrating on coaching. If he continues with lackluster results, then just about anyone could have him in a few years. I wonder if the new GM can ask to fire the coach. But, the world works like this all the time as it turns and turns. Erickson to SF, after he was at Seattle! I was never too impressed with him. Was his national championship the work of JJ and what he left behind? Was he the coach that got Miami on probation again?
Being up here in Oregon, this caught me by surprise too. TV reports were suggesting that maybe Rick Neuheisel of UW would get the job, but I never foresaw that Erickson wanted to leave Oregon State. Wow. I wonder who Oregon State will get now & what caliber of a coach they'll be able to attract to Corvallis. kevin + http://tullamarine.org
Erickson was 31-33 in Seattle, which really wasn't too bad considering the talent he had to use, compared with what he's inheriting here. He got Oregon State to their first bowl game since the 60's, and to three bowl games overall in his four years there, so that's not bad, either. Most impressive is that he not only has the head coaching experience, he's been both an offensive and defensive coordinator, so he knows the game. Obviously, Niner management didn't feel confident that the coordinators being considered (Blache, Cottrell, Mora Jr.) were ready to make the next step yet. I think they could've done worse for themselves. We'll see.
Some of the speculation on "The Dan Patrick Show" was on how the 49'ers owner was not too keen on those guys.
He was one of the three candidate they interviewed. I thought the Niners was going to interview a few more this week.
GM Terry Donahue has stated publicly that the choice came down to Erickson or Cottrell. On Ch. 11 sports last night, they interviewed some reverend from an African-American group who is furious over the decision, and says that they will protest outside Niner home games this year. (Johnnie Cochran is also surely researching ways he can exploit this cause for millions of dollars and vast TV exposure.) These kooks that use anything for a reason to cry "discrimination" really suck. Hey, at least the Niners seriously considered some blacks, and both Cottrell and Blache have said they felt they were given a respectable chance.