Coaching pals cross paths again

Dennis Erickson landed his first head coaching job at the University of Idaho in December 1981. He needed a defensive coordinator.

John L. Smith wasn’t happy as defensive coordinator at Nevada-Reno. He needed a change.

“He was an Idaho guy (native of Idaho Falls) and I interviewed him and hired him on the spot,” Erickson recalled.

That led to a seven-year collaboration at three schools – a program-altering run at Idaho, a turnaround year at Wyoming, an Aloha Bowl victory at Washington State and countless tales, some of which can be mentioned in the newspaper.

Smith, an accomplished storyteller, sets the scene: Washington State versus No. 1 UCLA, 1988. Cougars lead 34-30. Time winding down. Quarterback Troy Aikman has UCLA on the move. Heart rates soaring.

On fourth down, Smith called for a blitz as Erickson strolled down the sidelines within earshot.

“I said, ‘This is what I called – pressure and we’re locking down in man. What do you think?’ ” said Smith, laughing at the memory. “He looked at me and said, ‘That’s why I hired you,’ and walked away.”

WSU’s defense held and the Cougars walked away with a stunning victory, one of 50 wins engineered with Erickson as the head coach and Smith directing his defense. The two will be on opposite sidelines when Erickson’s Vandals visit Smith’s Michigan State Spartans on Saturday. They’ve never faced each other as head coaches.

“We’re very close friends,” Erickson said. “That stuff disappears for about three hours on Saturday. But when it’s over with, we’ll talk about what he thought of us and what we were trying to do against each other, really kind of dissect each other’s teams because we don’t play each other again, I hope, for a long period of time.”

When they worked together, Erickson essentially turned the defense over to Smith, something that isn’t always easy for a first-time head coach. Smith said it served as a valuable lesson when he became Idaho’s head coach in 1989.

“One thing I had to learn and the ‘Chief’ (Erickson’s nickname) kind of taught me is when you hire guys, you let them work and you don’t stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong,” Smith said. “He was great to work for, the best guy I ever worked for, beyond a doubt. He’s not only a friend, but a mentor.”

Erickson’s nickname came in a roundabout way from former Washington State athletic director Sam Jankovich.

“He used to call everybody ‘Chief’ and somehow he was around and called me that and it stuck with my assistants,” Erickson said.

Longtime Erickson assistant Gregg Smith is known as the “Gov,” for his verbal skills and ability to politic.

Erickson and Smith have played integral roles in each other’s careers. Before Erickson hired Smith as his defensive coordinator, Smith offered Erickson some career advice. At the time, Erickson was up for jobs at Idaho and Montana State, his alma mater.

“I told him, in my opinion, Idaho was a sleeping giant,” Smith said. “If you have a chance, jump at that. He got that job, thank goodness, and then he called me up and said, ‘Get your butt up here right now,’ and I said, ‘I’ll be there before that.’ He put together a great staff (including current UI offensive coordinator Dan Cozzetto). … I look back and that was about as much fun as I’ve ever had.”

When Idaho was looking for a new coach after the 1988 season, Erickson lobbied for Smith, who said “that was maybe the factor that got me in the door.”

“He handled a lot of things. He was my assistant head coach and he did a lot of the special teams,” Erickson said. “I thought he’d be a great head coach because he took command of things I asked him to take command of. He had great rapport with people – he just had that personality.”

Their career paths would zigzag across the country. The separation led to fewer phone calls, though Smith took his coaching staffs to visit Erickson at Miami “to keep up on the offensive side and see what he was doing.”

Erickson’s 144 wins rank No. 13 among active NCAA Division I-A coaches, followed by Smith (128), who is tied for 14th with three others. Ex-WSU coach Mike Price (145) is No. 12.

They’ll both do everything in their power Saturday to snag another win.

“When we first coached together he and I were both young,” Erickson cracked. “My hair was dark and he had hair. … We had a lot of success together.”