Erickson Envisions Nfl Title Coach Foresees Super Bowl Trip In A New Stadium Or A New Town

Seattle Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson made it clear Monday that a new stadium and a Super Bowl appearance would make life very good for him and his National Foot ball League team.

Filled with off-season enthusiasm and bronzed with a golfer’s tan, Erickson said if voters don’t approve financing for a new stadium and exhibition center in next Tuesday’s election, the Seahawks will just have to make their Super Bowl bid in some other city.

The single-issue ballot, financed by Paul Allen, the would-be savior of pro football in Seattle, would lead to replacement of the Kingdome with an open-air stadium.

“If it doesn’t pass, we’re out of here, to Cleveland … wherever,” Erickson said. “We’d have to try to go to the Super Bowl somewhere else. But, if it passes, it will be the greatest day in my life. We’ll have some stability at last.”

Stability was a big issue with Erickson during a late-afternoon news conference at the Spokane Club. The third-year coach is not only a few days away from learning the team’s long-term future, but a month away from bringing the Seahawks into training camp at Eastern Washington University.

The Seahawks, who spent their first decade training in Cheney, will return to EWU for the first time since 1985.

“I’ve wanted to go to Cheney since I took the job because, when we’re there, we’re together and we can develop a lot of camaraderie,” Erickson said.

After finishing with eight victories and eight defeats in 1995, Erickson’s first season, the Seahawks went 7-9 last fall. Those seasons may not accurately predict the future.

“I’m really excited about what’s going on,” said Erickson, whose head-coaching resume includes stints at Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State and Miami.

“We’ve made some good acquisitions, including Warren Moon, who’s almost as old as I am,” he said. “I believe we’re a lot better. If this thing passes, I think we have a chance to have a Super Bowl in Seattle some day. We’re not very far away.

“I took the job for one reason,” the former Everett High School quarterback said, “to come home and take this team to the Super Bowl.”

Moon’s acquisition strengthens an improving quarterback situation with Coeur d’Alene High graduate John Friesz as the starter.

“Friesz is the quarterback,” Erickson said, mixing a sense of conviction with his long-range outlook. “John Friesz is a great football player, but the guy I’m really excited about is Jon Kitna. He’s a great athlete, he can move around and he has a great arm.”

The Seahawks signed Kitna, an All-American who took Central Washington University to an NAIA championship, as a free agent one year ago.

“Since we’ve had him playing in the World League, he’s really grown as a player,” Erickson said. “To me, he was the No. 1 quarterback in the (1996) draft.”

Emboldened by the abrupt change of sentiment that led San Francisco voters to approve a new stadium for the 49ers, Erickson spoke hopefully about next week’s statewide vote.

“I’m not a politician, I’m a football coach,” he said, “but I believe it’s getting better. The San Francisco thing made a real difference.

“It’s been hard to function with the lack of stability and it’s a distraction. When we line up in Cheney, we’ll get ready to play wherever, but our players love Seattle and they want to stay. So sure, they think about it.”

Erickson believes some people place too much emphasis on the Allen who insists the public help him build a new stadium and not enough on the Allen who would be a model owner.

“They asked Paul Allen to save the Seahawks, and he wants it to be a statewide team,” Erickson said. “Paul wants to win at whatever he does, investing, basketball, football, you name it. You’ve got to have the money to spend to get the right players, and he’s willing to do what he needs to do to be successful.

“When it comes to financing the stadium, the people who go to the games are the ones who are going to pay.”