Tribune interview with Dennis Erickson

This interview with Dennis Erickson has an interesting quote defending Mike Riley.

Erickson, Vandals face uphill battle

Erickson bristles at criticism of his successor.

“That’s ridiculous,” Erickson says. “The Internet has screwed everything up. Mike is doing a great job with that program, for criminy sakes. Give me a break. He’s a good coach and has a good staff, and they’re recruiting well. Those things happen. As a coach, you’d like to be able to control that, but it happens.

“They are going to win a lot of games. It’s a good thing sometimes that fans don’t make (coaching) decisions.”

[...]

Erickson admits he has sneaked a thought or two about his impending visit to Corvallis, where he remains a popular figure for his stellar work as the Beavers’ coach from 1999 to 2002.

“I was back last year for the Portland State game,” he says. “The renovated stadium is so cool – it makes me proud of my time there. But to be on the other sideline, that will be very emotional for me.”

Idaho lost big to Wazzu and I think we all breathed a little sigh of relief.

The internet is a very different animal. I think the coaches and athletic departments need to address it almost as much as recruiting. I think they need to have more openness in the athletic department. Maybe get a player and coach blogging. Maybe allow for some comments and then respond to the comments. Why let things hash out on the Boards? Control it a bit by responding to some of these questions. Have a weekly chat with Head Coach Mike Riley. Make him available.

The thing I like about Mike Riley is that he doesn't get defensive when people ask tough questions and I really like when he gets into the football strategy and explains some of the game nuances to us laymans. I think he could really win over some fans and show off his knowledge by just connecting a bit with the fans and let them ask tough questions and answer them with his knowledge. Lets get into what coaching is really like and why they make some of the decisions that they do.

I think the athletic dept. or coach that recognizes the power of the internet will go a long way towards keeping the fans happy through the tough times and end up helping with ticket sales, fundraising, and possibly recruiting.

What do you think?