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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Old Pac-10 Foes To Collide In Pro Debuts Erickson And Brooks Recall Games That Were Important

Associated Press

Dennis Erickson of the Seattle Seahawks and Rich Brooks of the St. Louis Rams, old college coaching rivals, make their NFL head coaching debuts against each other this weekend.

While each would go all-out to win in their Pacific-10 Conference games, tonight’s result in the exhibition opener is not nearly as important.

The main objective for Erickson, 48, and Brooks, 53, will be evaluating the personnel on their new teams, not trying to get college teams into bowl games.

“Obviously, the outcome of this game is not as big as the outcome of those Oregon-Washington State games,” Erickson said. “Sure, you’d like to win. Anytime you’re in something that’s competitive you’d like to win the game. But that’s not the most important thing for either team.”

Erickson and Brooks chatted on the telephone this week. “I asked him to take it easy on me,” Brooks said with a laugh.

Brooks didn’t take it easy on Erickson the first two times the coaches met in the Pac-10. Brooks’ Oregon teams beat Erickson’s Washington State teams in 1987 and ‘88.

Erickson’s ‘88 Washington State team went 9-3, which resulted in the University of Miami coaching job, which landed him the Seahawks coaching job last Jan. 12 after owner Ken Behring fired Tom Flores.

“I remember ‘88 particularly,” Erickson said. “We had an awfully good team. We weren’t that far from going to the Rose Bowl that year.”

In his 18th season at Oregon last season, Brooks finally got to the Rose Bowl. After Rams owner Georgia Frontiere fired Chuck Knox following her team’s 4-12 finish in ‘94, she hired Brooks on Feb. 10.

Then Frontiere moved the Rams from Anaheim, Calif., to St. Louis.

At Miami, Erickson won a pair of national championships and was 63-9. Brooks was 18 games under .500 in his 18 seasons at Oregon, but coached the Ducks to the Pac-10 title and into the Rose Bowl for the first time in 37 years.

There’s no question Erickson will be successful in the NFL, veteran Seahawks players are saying.

“He’s proven he’s a successful coach,” punter Rick Tuten said.