The Arizona State Sun Devils have a new head football coach. Dennis Erickson, currently the head coach at Idaho, has been offered the job and has accepted, according to published reports in this morning’s East Valley Tribune. (www.eastvalleytribune.com) He was one of the names that had been mentioned frequently the past week or so, along with Mike Price and Mike Riley, among others. Personallly, I was hoping for Dave McGinnis or Steve Mariucci, but I think I can live with Erickson. Here are the pros and cons of Erickson’s hire, as I see them.

The Good.

-When ASU athletic director Lisa Love embarked on her search, she stated she was looking for a big name who has had success. At least at the college level, Erickson certainly has had that. He was 64-8 at Miami and won two national titles. He coached at Washington State two years before heading to Miami, going 9-3 the second year there and got the Cougars their first bowl win in 73 years. At Oregon State, he had a 31-17 record and took the Beavers to three bowl games, going 11-1 his last year there and trouncing Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl.

-Erickson’s offensive coordinator at Idaho, Dan Cozetto, figures to come with Erickson to Tempe. Cozetto was the O.C. for Arizona State from ‘92-‘99 under Bruce Snyder, and is highly thought of in these parts. He should bring a more balanced offense than the pass-happy Dirk Koetter had, though the Sun Devils ran the ball better this year than at any time under Koetter, perhaps out of necessity more than anything else. (Koetter will coach the team in the upcoming Hawaii Bowl, by the way).

-Erickson obviously is familiar with the Pac-10 as well as the national stage. And his name will no doubt assist him in the recruiting wars.

-One would have to think that Erickson is not looking to move after this job. At the age of 59, this appears to be a final stop, rather than a stepping stone for him, though no one knows for sure what the future holds.

The Bad

-On the other side of the coin, I was hoping for someone who would be a long term solution. In other words, someone younger than Erickson’s 59 years. For the same reason, I was also cool to the idea of Riley, Price, and Norm Chow, another name that was bandied about a lot in the time since Koetter was let go. Although I understand that finding a young coach who will step up and succeed at the next level is a bit of a crapshoot. But what the hey, I like to gamble. But I don’t have thousand of fans, alum, and administrators watching me when I do.

 -A few days after the Koetter announcement, Lisa Love was at an ASU men’s basketball game. As she walked in front of the student section, the crowd started chanting “Dave Mc-Gin-nis.” McGinnis, currently an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, would have been a perfect fit here, in my opinion. Granted, he didn’t have much success as the NFL Cardinals head coach, (who does?), but his personality is perfect for the college game. He’s a bit of a rah-rah guy, and the fans here still like him. Plus, Norm Chow, now the O.C. with the Titans, may have accompanied McGinnis to Tempe. I mentioned I didn’t like the idea of Chow as the head coach, but I’d take him in a heartbeat as offensive coordinator. Steve Mariucci also has Pac-10 ties, and his name is recognizable as well. I would love to see what he could do here. He has had success both in college and the NFL, his stint with the Lions notwithstanding. Like McGinnis with the Cardinals, I won’t hold Mariucci’s failure with the Lions against him.

-Erickson does bring some baggage. He was arrested for DUI in 1995. Granted, that was 11 years ago, but it’s always brought along with his name, so it will be a big deal for some. And even though he had success at Miami, the connotations of the Hurricanes program are often not good. His teams have not exactly been the most disciplined, and we’ve seen ASU take their share of penalties under Koetter, so I don’t expect that to change much.

The Outlook

The Arizona State football program has been labeled a “sleeping giant” by some. Lee Corso was on local radio recently and called it one of the ten best college coaching jobs in America. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the possibility of a big name coach like Erickson awakening the program cannot be ignored. There are a lot of pluses that the school has to offer. The weather, a 73,000 seat stadium smack dab in the middle of campus (which has hosted numerous national championship games and a Super Bowl), and a recently upgraded weight room and practice facilities that are considered among the best in the country.

ASU also has the second largest enrollment in the nation, only a few hundred behind Ohio State according to numbers from the fall of this year. That can give off a big time feel, but obviously in itself doesn’t necessarily translate into a significant recruiting tool.

With a roster adequately stocked with young talent, Erickson should be able to win almost right away. Of course the flip side of that is that he will be expected to win right away. And rightly so, as long as he can fit the personnel to his system, which is always easier said than done. I personally will give him a one-year honeymoon period. No more. And that might be generous, considering the fact that the 2007 schedule is favorable, listing eight home games for the Sun Devils. All in all, Love seemingly made a very good hire in head basketball coach Herb Sendek from North Carolina State, so it appears she knows what she’s doing. Of course, she also was the one who gave Koetter a contract extension after last season, but she realized her mistake, bit the bullet, and moved on. She wanted to go big game hunting and bag a prize capable of competing with the likes of conference foe USC, and Erickson may have been the best name available for that purpose. (For those who don't know, Love was an associate athletic director at USC before landing the ASU gig, so she's no stranger to big-time collegiate athletics). I look at Erickson like a fan would when trade rumors surface. At first, sometimes they don’t sound like a good idea, but once it’s done, you start to think that maybe it’s not such a bad deal. From what I’ve read and heard, Erickson is hungry to regain his status as a big time coach. If so, his coming to Tempe may be just what the doctor ordered for this “sleeping giant.”

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Someday, I’m going to have a Wall of Fame in my house. It’s going to need some space, so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it probably won’t happen until the kids are gone, since I’ll need one of their bedrooms to do it. I’m going to feature sports figures that I’ve seen in my lifetime who have epitomized what I consider to be the best side of athletic competition. I could list the criteria, but I think the reputation of the subjects will do it for me. I’ll simply say this-Winners with class. And in the unfortunate circumstance that they did lose, still exuded class. At this time, I’m limiting it to figures I’ve seen in my lifetime, as I mentioned, since obviously I am more familiar with those figures. More than likely, by the time the kids leave home and I can have more space, I’ll also have added a few names.

When I get to embark on the assembly of that Wall of Fame, here are my “charter members:”

Dean Smith-North Carolina basketball coach for 36 years. Career record: 879-256. A winning percentage of .776. Eleven Final Four appearances. Twenty-three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, a record. His list of star players is far too long to list here. But that’s not the best part. This is--Ninety-six percent of his players received their undergraduate degree. And of those, one in three received their graduate degrees. A former Tar Heel once said, “Coach Smith doesn’t prepare you for the next game or the next season. He prepares you for life.” One of the many basketball traditions Smith started was starting all his seniors in the last home game, which has become known over the years as ‘Senior Day.’ One year, when Smith had six seniors on the squad, he started them all, rather than sit one out. To him, the ensuing technical foul was a small price to pay.

 James Worthy –Although he was a Tar Heel, this was not an easy one for me, since he went on to play for the enemy-the Los Angeles Lakers. I was a Celtic fan in the ‘80s, but anyone in their right mind would take "Big Game James" any day. To borrow an overused phrase, he was the consummate pro. Consistent, humble, productive, and a great teammate. And yes, a North Carolina grad under Coach Smith. The only reason Worthy isn’t thought of more highly is because of what I call the “Jim Rice Syndrome.” So incredibly consistent that you never noticed him until he was injured or in a slump. Which usually didn’t last long, due to his focus on fundamentals. Fundamentals will almost always pull you out of a slump. Just ask Dean Smith. 

Larry Bird-No one ever did more with less, so to speak. Other than being 6’9”, which helped, no doubt, he was as fundamentally sound as they come. He had to be. His attributes? Quickness, speed, and leaping ability were not among them. He had one thing going for him. A work ethic unmatched. Free throw percentage, three-point percentage, rebounding, passing, steals, big plays, etc. All came from sweat and desire, and what is now referred to as ‘reps.’ Nothing else. In my mind, the greatest player ever, because he instantly made everyone on his team better.

Walter Payton-The backbone of the Chicago Bears for a lot of years. During the years when the Bears weren’t very good, and there were a lot of them, they had very little alternatives offensively. And Payton still produced, and produced big time, even though the defense knew what was coming. Until Emmitt Smith, Payton was the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. And he did so playing for a much poorer team most of his career. Payton would be the first player I would pick in a playground game. He did everything that was asked of him and more. Rest in peace, Sweetness.

Nolan Ryan-Throwing a fastball by major leaguers when you’re well into your 40s is a pretty good credential, for starters. But taking into consideration the fact that Ryan pitched seven no-hitters, two of them after his 40th birthday, is hard to believe. He had two in ’73 alone. Think about that for a minute. Ryan was an employee that any major league team would love to have today. Talk about a workhorse. In 1987, he led the NL in ERA (2.76), and had a record of 8-16. Guess he was keeping his team close in a lot of 2-1 and 1-0 losses. Ponder these numbers-and this is just scratching the surface: Nine seasons with 10 or more complete games. Roger Clemens, by comparison, has had five. Twelve complete game one-hitters. A record 383 strikeouts in that ’73 season, during which he started 41 games and completed 26 of them. Two hundred and twenty-two lifetime complete games. He averaged just under seven innings per start in his 773 career starts. He struck out more than 300 batters in a season six times. By comparison, Clemens’ high for a season is 292 in 1997.

Chris Evert/Jimmy Connors-I grouped these two together because of the similarities of their careers. Both had multiple rivals; Evert had Evonne Goolagong, Virginia Wade, Margaret Smith-Court and later Martina Navratilova to deal with. Connors had rivals like Stan Smith and John Newcombe early in his career, followed by Guillermo Vilas, Bjorn Borg and later John McEnroe. This signifies that both Evert and Connors were top-notch for a long time. Both won a lot of championships, and against many different opponents. Both won early in their careers and late. They were the biggest rivals of several different players at any given time in their careers. Always hunted, they still produced big time. And both always won graciously and faced the music when they lost. We could use a few more like them today.

Eddie Robinson-Grambling’s head football coach for 56 years. Not a misprint. Fifty-six years. Lifetime coaching record: 408-165-15, A .694 winning percentage. He produced over 200 future NFL players. He had to recruit against the bigger, more well known schools, which was just about everybody else, during his whole tenure at Grambling. As a result, he often had to take kids who were perhaps second tier talents and make them realize their full potential. Obviously, judging by his success, he was able to do that. Granted, he didn’t play against the biggest name opponents either, but if you measure one by how he fares against his peers, his legacy stands on its own merit. Incidentally, one of his former players, Doug Williams, succeeded him as coach in 1998. Williams was the MVP of Super Bowl XXII with the Washington Redskins.

Rod Carew-The sweetest ballplayer I knew growing up, when all of us are the most impressionable. As a kid, I only dreamed of being as cool as Rod. Sweet swing, speed enough to steal a base or regularly bunt for hits, and a very underrated fielder at second base. The best all-around second baseman in baseball for about 10 years running if you look at consistency. He was one of those players you had to watch to get the full appreciation. He seemed to move effortlessly on the base paths, yet got there in a hurry. Every time I see a player wearing number 29, I think of Rodney Cline Carew.

And there you have it. My version of first-ballot Wall of Famers. Thanks for taking the time to read.