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View Full Version : Coaches - damned if they do or don't



OK2LA
12/11/2006, 05:39 PM
Article is on ESPN.COM


MOSCOW, Idaho -- Dennis Erickson informed his players of his plans to leave Idaho at a team meeting Sunday before he boarded a private jet to Phoenix for the official announcement that he would become head coach at Arizona State, and the players' reactions were mostly indifferent -- until he left the room.

"We've all been through it before," junior running back Jayson Bird told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., "so we just stood there and it was kind of dull when he [Erickson] talked.

"He said, 'it's all about you guys, not who is coaching you.' Damn right, I guess. Nobody really got fired up until after he left."

After Erickson left the room, senior-to-be linebacker David Vobora "got up and said, 'it is about us, not them,' so it's kind of the theme," Bird said.

"It doesn't really matter who the coaches are -- well, it does -- but we're the reason they have jobs," he added. "If they're going to do that and play the politics game, its going to be hard for us to trust our next coach because we've been [messed with] a couple of times, so it's hard to deal with."

"There was some tension in the air," said quarterback Brian Nooy, one of the few players who were brought to Moscow by Erickson after the coach arrived following the signing deadline last year. "There was a lot of disappointment throughout the team because everybody was excited about what we have next year and what we could do. It's one of those deals where we have to put it behind us and look forward."

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."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press





If you play at a "smaller school" - you have to know that things are going to be volitile. If you have a good coach - he will likely be offered a "better" job.*

*This is a direct coorelation to the real world - If you do well at your job, you might get promoted. If you don't get promoted, you might be able to find a better job, or a higher paying job somewhere else.

Why does this surprise these kids over and over and over again? I guess they don't really pay much attention to the big business of college football. They just want to play.

The coach is fired if he doesn't win enough games, and if he tries to make a better life for himself, or would like to MOVE FORWARD in his profession - he gets lambasted for it. Good thing that they are paying these guys a pantload of money - it's a pretty unstable situation in my opinion

FroggyStyle22
12/11/2006, 06:21 PM
Yeah poor coaches and their $1,000,000+ contracts.

If you are gonna take that stand you should never ever complain about a recruit decommiting and going elsewhere.