Dennis Erickson
Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the assistant head football coach and running backs coach at the University of Utah. Erickson as served as the head football coach at the University of Idaho (1982–1985, 2006), the University of Wyoming (1986), Washington State University (1987–1988), the University of Miami (1989–1994), Oregon State University (1999–2002), and Arizona State University (2007–2011). His record as a college football head coach is 179–96–1. Erickson has also been the head coach of two teams in the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Seahawks (1995–1998) and the San Francisco 49ers (2003–2004), where he tallied a mark of 40–56. During his tenure at Miami, Erickson's teams won two national championships, in 1989 and 1991.
Early life
Erickson was raised in Ferndale, Washington, 100 miles (160 km) north of Seattle, and in Everett, 25 miles (40 km) north of Seattle. His father, Robert "Pinky" Erickson, was the head football coach at Ferndale High School before becoming the head coach at Cascade High School in Everett. The younger Erickson played quarterback at the rival Everett High, coached by next-door neighbor, Bill Dunn. This "made for some quiet dinners on game day." As a junior, Dennis was the starting quarterback, beating out the former starter, senior Mike Price, another future college head coach.
