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Dennis Erickson (born March 24, 1947, in Everett, Washington) is an American football coach. He has been the head coach of five collegiate football programs and two NFL franchises. He is currently the head coach of the Idaho Vandals of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), a team he had coached over twenty years earlier.

Erickson's head coaching career began in December 1981, at age 34, when he was hired at Idaho (following a successful stint as Jack Elway's offensive coordinator at San Jose State). Building on his reputation as an offensive innovator, Erickson became Idaho's all-time winningest head coach in just four seasons with the Vandals (1982-85). He took his "spread offense" with him to Wyoming in 1986 for a single season, returned to the Palouse with Washington State (1987-88) for two, then on to Miami (1989-94) for six, winning two national championhips. He was then hired as an NFL head coach, staying for four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (1995-98), then went back to the college level with Oregon State in 1999 for four more, then back to the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers (2003-04) for just two. He did not coach during the 2005 season.

Erickson was raised in Everett, twenty five miles north of Seattle. His father, "Pinky", was a high school head football coach at Cascade High School. The younger Erickson played quarterback at the rival high school (Everett HS), which "made for some quiet dinners on game day." As a junior he became the starting quarterback, beating out the former starter, senior Mike Price, another future college head coach. Price, the son of the local junior college head coach, was moved to defense (as a safety).

In college, Erickson was an effective undersized quarterback (quick feet, marginal arm) at Montana State from 1966-68, earning all-conference honors (Big Sky). Immediately after his senior season, he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Bobcats in 1969. In 1970, at age 23, Erickson became the head coach at Billings Central High School, staying for just a single season. From 1971 through 1981, he was a collegiate assistant coach (offense) at Montana State (3 yrs.), Idaho (2), Fresno State (3), & San Jose State (3).

Considered a coaching vagabond, Erickson had been mentioned in connection with several college head football coaching vacancies, including San Diego State.

On February 8, 2006, the University of Idaho announced that Dennis Erickson will return as its head football coach. Erickson won 32 games as the Vandals' coach from 1982-1985, then a Division I-AA program in the Big Sky Conference.

External Links

University of Idaho athletics Press release 08-Feb-2006

References

"Out of Everett," 'The Seattle Times' Pacific Magazine, Sunday, August 13, 1995, p.12-17.

• 1947 births
• People from Washington
• Living people
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers
• American football quarterbacks
• Montana State Bobcats football players
• San José State Spartans football coaches
• Idaho Vandals football coaches
• Wyoming Cowboys football coaches
• Washington State Cougars football coaches
• Miami Hurricanes football coaches
• Seattle Seahawks coaches
• Oregon State Beavers football coaches
• San Francisco 49ers coaches