Erickson Comes In With Hands Full Decision ‘95: New Hawks Coach Must Rescue Bottomed-Out Offense

Hired away from the University of Miami to lure Seattle’s pro football fans back to the Kingdome, new Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson is going to find out if his magic works in the NFL.

A whole lot of what’s going to happen offensively in Erickson’s rookie coaching season depends on who’ll be playing with Rick Mirer, Chris Warren and Brian Blades.

“We’ve just got to see what our personnel is more than anything,” Erickson said.

What worked in Miami, where Erickson coached two national championship teams, may not necessarily work in Seattle. And Erickson - guru of the one-back, three-wide receiver spread - knows that.

He’s still thinking about how to improve a Seahawks offense that was 24th in the league in total offense with 290.8 yards a game and 26th in passing with 160.5 yards a game in going 6-10 under Tom Flores last season.

In six pressure-packed years with the Hurricanes as Jimmy Johnson’s successor, Erickson established himself as one of college football’s brightest offensive minds.

The man knows how to score points.

Erickson’s high-powered offense, along with his 63-9 record with the Hurricanes, are why majority owner Ken Behring hired him to replace the fired Flores.

Still, Erickson is going to have to make some changes.

“Very few teams in the NFL can get away exclusively with a one-back offense, which is what the Miami offense evolved to in the time that Dennis was there,” said new Seahawks offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.

As for personnel, the Seahawks’ most dramatic need is at wide receiver. They also could use a tight end and some help in the offensive line at guard.

When Seattle submitted its list of six players for the Feb. 15 expansion draft, it included receivers Kelvin Martin and Terrence Warren, and tight end Ferrell Edmunds - all expendable.

Mirer, the promising second-year quarterback, and Blades, who caught a franchise-record 81 passes last season, need more help to make the Seahawks’ passing game work and to make Warren, last season’s AFC rushing champion with 1,545 yards, even more effective.

So Erickson will spend a lot of Behring’s money on free agents after the Super Bowl. He hopes to solve some of the Seahawks’ offensive problems with a topflight wide receiver like UCLA’s J.J. Stokes.

The Seahawks will draft seventh or eighth in the April 22-23 draft, depending on a coin flip with Tampa Bay.

Under Erickson, the Seahawks plan to utilize fullbacks Steve Smith and Tracy Johnson. That means Warren won’t be alone so much in the Seattle backfield.

At Miami, Erickson liked to spread the field to create mismatches. He may have to amend that somewhat with the Seahawks because he won’t want offensive tackles Ray Roberts or Howard Ballard blocking one-on-one with some of the NFL’s premier defensive linemen.

Miami quarterback Gino Torretta won the 1992 Heisman Trophy under Erickson. The coach would sometimes send five receivers out for passes, leaving no one to protect Miami’s quarterback.

That probably won’t happen much in Seattle, if it happens at all.

Mirer, the second player chosen in the 1993 draft after Drew Bledsoe went to New England, is going to be a key, and Erickson has to keep him healthy.

In two seasons under Flores, Mirer was a dropback quarterback who ran a ballcontrol offense that featured Warren’s running first. The emphasis was on ball control, because Seattle’s receivers weren’t good enough to make big plays. Mirer cut down his interceptions from 17 as a rookie to seven last season, but it didn’t do much good.

Erickson will utilize Mirer’s athletic ability more than Flores did. Mirer will move around more and pass while rolling out.

How much depends on who Erickson can get to help Blades catch passes.

Mirer won’t be called on to make 60-yard throws for Erickson. Instead, he will take three- and five-step drops and deliver the ball to his receivers quickly. He had some seven-step drops under Flores.

One player who likely won’t be asked back by Erickson is Dan McGwire, the tallest quarterback in NFL history at 6-foot-8 and Mirer’s backup the past two seasons.