Good Hire... Bad Hire...  

More coaching chaos from this weekend. First, the good news. Tulane made a good hire by selecting Bob Toledo for its' coaching vacancy. Toledo had a solid 49-32 record at UCLA and won a pair of Pac-10 titles, and almost led Cade McNown (one of my favorite all-time college players) and company to a national championship game. He was fired after a "disappointing" 7-5 season, but of course that record would be an improvement over this year's. For a program that would LOVE to have a winning record, and has been on the verge of being discontinued at the school, this is a major coup. Toledo is a winner, and it's a great hire for Tulane. If he has success he won't be around there forever, but he'll definitely leave the program better off than when he started, and will raise the profile making it easier to attract a young coach with lots of potential.

Arizona St. made a bad hire by selecting Erickson. This guy is the definition of a mercenary. He left Idaho, the school that give him his big break, in the lurch, and spurned players he had convinced to more to Moscow, Idaho to play for him. Then he stabbed them in the back. He is definitely a good coach, that's not really the issue. He will happily burn Arizona St. for anywhere that will offer more money and/or prestige. If he was willing to burn the school that gave him his first shot, and then helped him salvage his career, from the state where he grew up, then he won't think twice about turning his back on the Sun Devils. My prediction is that he'll have a couple of good seasons, and then will go elsewhere before he burns up his JuCo advantage, and before he can build any last legacy. He will leave his successor with a team with plenty of questionable character guys, and no committed recruits, since they will mostly be JuCo mercenaries just like Erickson himself. Every program he leaves, he leaves in shambles, because he does not make any systematic changes, or develop a legitimate recruiting or training infrastructure. He's the ultimate quick-fix. He is the Ikea of coaches. He looks great, but nothing he does is built to last.