The 2007 football season brought great success to the Sun Devils, and Dennis Erickson became a symbol for it.
That season came out of nowhere. ASU had finished with seven wins in both 2005 and 2006. The preceding seasons didn’t show a gradual incline in wins, so the fan base was thrilled when ASU won its first eight games.
Fans chalked this amazing season up to the presence of a new head coach, and the belief that ASU football would become a powerhouse program was born. This belief was ill founded. It turned out ASU was not ready for prime time.
The next three seasons produced just 15 wins, and fans were left sulking. We took the early successes of Erickson and company to heart when we shouldn’t have.
The Frank Kush era, from 1958 to 1979, is really the only time of continued success in Sun Devil football history. Kush’s long presence in the football program let the University build the incredible infrastructure that is necessary to be a constant success.
Even when ASU ended up in the Rose Bowl following the 1986 and 1996 seasons, this success was unexpected. The team’s 1984 record was an abysmal 5-6, while the 1985 record was 8-4. The 1996 season is the same story. In 1995, the team won only six games before winning 11 the following season.
There were not seasons where the Sun Devils consistently won eight or nine games before winning 10. Rather, these were pleasant flukes that would not be repeated the following year.
The University has gone through six head coaches since 1980. Whoever should replace Erickson will be the seventh coach in a little over three decades.
Stability is not the strong suit of the ASU football program. The reason LSU, Oklahoma and USC perform well season after season is due to the infrastructure these programs have in place.
When recruits are deciding what schools to attend and play football for, they want to know what the program has in store for them. If a team gets a new head coach every few seasons, there will always be a large question mark surrounding the school’s football program.
While the Erickson era needed to come to an end, it is an unfortunate consequence. The University banked on a Hall of Fame coach turning the program into something of a dynasty, but came to learn very quickly that process needs much more.
Even if ASU had continued success under Erickson, a long tenure was not guaranteed. Erickson is 64 years old, and retirement may have been imminent if the athletic department didn’t let him go.
ASU needs some fresh blood in our football program, but this will come at the expense of stability. The new coach should be a young person who shows potential and wants to stick around.
It takes a village to raise a child, not a family. It takes a program to win championships, not an individual.
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