Arizona State lures Erickson to fill coaching vacancy

PHOENIX -- Dennis Erickson has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said Saturday night.

The 59-year-old Erickson spent one season at Idaho in his second stint at the school, going 4-8. He led Miami to two national titles, also has been a head coach at Wyoming, Washington State and Oregon State and coached Seattle and San Francisco in the NFL.

Erickson has a 149-64-1 record in 18 seasons as a college coach. At Oregon State, he helped turn one of the game's most unsuccessful programs into a winner, coaching the Beavers to a Fiesta Bowl triumph over Notre Dame.

Arizona State sports information director Mark Brand had no comment, but Spear said Erickson told him Saturday afternoon that he was accepting the Sun Devils' job.

Arizona State must pay a $150,000 buyout to Idaho. Erickson had signed a five-year deal, and Spear said he was "very disappointed" in the coach's decision to leave after only one season.

"Had we known that we were going to end up in this situation we would never have gone down that road," Spear said. "We made a commitment and we thought we had a commitment from the other end, but I wish Dennis Erickson the best."

Erickson replaces Dirk Koetter, who was fired after going 40-33 in six seasons. Koetter will coach the Sun Devils against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.