Good Times Roll For Mueller

Randy Mueller and Dennis Erickson talk quite a bit, but not necessarily about the past.

Not when current events are so downright wondrous.

Mueller is the St. Maries native who swiftly scaled the Seattle Seahawks organizational chart to the rank of general manager. Erickson was 31-33 in four years as Seattle’s coach with Mueller in the front office.

Nowadays, Erickson is reeling in coach of the year awards at Oregon State. And Mueller is in line for NFL executive of the year for positioning New Orleans in the NFC West title hunt.

“I guess the band would play the same song for both of us,” Mueller said by telephone last week. “Who’d a thunk it.”

Indeed. Oregon State a national power. New Orleans an NFL power. Mueller going from St. Maries to Bourbon Street.

“The city’s world revolves around the Saints,” Mueller said. “The people recognize you, they genuinely care. They are engaging and they want to talk and visit about the Saints.”

Mueller, of course, has much to talk about. Shortly after Mueller was hired, he selected longtime friend Jim Haslett as head coach.

“Having known him, there was no learning curve,” Mueller said. “We hit the ground with a plan and we haven’t stopped.”

They overhauled the roster, bringing in 31 new players.

Nearly every move has worked. Signing free-agent quarterback Jeff Blake was considered the most notable move - until Blake was lost for the season with a fractured and dislocated ankle.

Blake’s injury opened the door for Aaron Brooks, a household name in his household, but few others. New Orleans had acquired Brooks from Green Bay for a third-round draft pick.

“I studied a lot of his film at Virginia and we couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t in that group (of quarterbacks) that went early in the ‘99 draft,” Mueller said. “He got off the plane (in preseason) at midnight in Jacksonville. He got to bed at 2 a.m. We practice at 8:30 against the Jaguars and he takes snaps in the scrimmage. He had been in our offense before and he picked it up quickly.”

All part of the plan.

“I came here because I knew I could choose the coach and build the staff the way we wanted it (and) the owner (Tom Benson) is committed to doing whatever it takes,” Mueller said. “I didn’t want to go where you have to rebuild for four of five years. Really a five-year plan is non- existent in this day and age.”

As Mueller has proven in just 11 months on the job.

Panhandling

Idaho has filed paperwork with the NCAA requesting it restore a year of eligibility to men’s basketball recruit Jerald Jenkins.

Jenkins played in eight games as a freshman at Hartford College (Bel Air, Md.) before the team canceled its remaining games because a number of players - not Jenkins - were academically ineligible.

The highly touted Jenkins, who played last year at Independence (Kan.) College, will become eligible later this month at Idaho. However, coach Dave Farrar said, “we’re not going to do that (use Jenkins). It would cost him a year.”

The NCAA could change Farrar’s mind if it came back ASAP with a ruling in Jenkins’ favor. Farrar isn’t banking on it.

Vandals backup quarterback Ed Dean is practicing with the basketball team. “I can’t say what his role would be (because) this is still in its infancy,” Farrar said. “He wants to keep competing.”

North Idaho College forward Steve Bonner played at Petersburg (Va.) High, the same school as NBA legend Moses Malone. Bonner’s dad had the (mis)fortune of guarding Malone in a game.

“My dad wasn’t a dominant player, but he was a good player,” Bonner said. “But there wasn’t much he could do against Moses.”

Bonner’s 41-point outburst against Yakima Valley last week rates as second on NIC’s all-time list behind Rich Britton’s 44 against Eastern Washington in 1965.

Bonner is receiving serious attention from four-year schools, including Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Lakeland football’s Terry Kiefer has won nine Intermountain League coach of the year awards since 1987. No word on whether that’s nine and counting or nine and done. Kiefer is still deciding if he wants to return or retire.

You’ll recall several mentions in this space of Idaho sports information director Becky Paull, who donated part of her liver to brother-in-law Tom Fitzpatrick three months ago.

Fitzpatrick recently returned home to Lewiston and a post-Thanksgiving turkey dinner with family and friends. “He’s craving chocolate,” Paull said. “That’s what he gets for getting a piece of my liver.”

Grad school

Former Bonners Ferry Badger Adam Hiatt is contributing at Ricks College. The 6-3 freshman is averaging nearly 10 points per game, shooting 51 percent from the floor and 48 percent on 3-pointers.

He’s also averaging 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists for Ricks (7-3).

Front row

Spectator bliss this week.

Sandpoint visits Coeur d’Alene in boys basketball tonight at 7:45. Post Falls girls are at Lake City at 7:45 Thursday.

Friday’s best: Border League boys basketball powers Cheney and Lake City tangle at LC at 6, and the second-ranked Lassen College wrestling team visits No. 1-rated NIC at 7:45.

Idaho tips off its Big West basketball season against Long Beach State at 7:05 Saturday in the Kibbie Dome.

Rumor du jour

San Jose State and football coach Dave Baldwin parted company - less than amicably, by the way - leaving several coaches with UI ties as possible successors.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, A.D. Chuck Bell probably will call John L. Smith, whom Bell hired when he was at Utah State. Smith figures to endorse an assistant from his Louisville staff, perhaps Scott Linehan.

Other names that might surface are ex-UI staffers Bill Diedrick and Kent Baer. Both are at Stanford.