Can Dennis Erickson Lead the Sun Devils To a Much-Needed Winning Season?

Dennis Erickson came to Arizona State as head coach in 2007 after the firing of Dirk Koetter by the newly appointed athletic director Lisa Love.

He was brought to Tempe to form a championship team, which in his first year, it looked like it was quite possible that he had the program heading in that exact direction.

The 2007 season, Erickson's first with ASU, confirmed that he was building a national championship team. After going 10-2 in the regular season, having a share of the Pac-10 crown, and being ranked as low as fourth in the national polls, it is needless to say expectations for the 2008 season were set extremely high.

Expectations that are still yet to be fulfilled.

Erickson's 2008 season brought in five wins and seven losses. The following 2009 season was a punch to the stomach for Sun Devil fans, only bringing in four wins.

Erickson has his experience. Has national college championships with Miami. Has NFL coaching on his resume. So what is the problem?

Many say that the 2007 team Erickson coached was merely a fluke for him. That he coached a team that the former head coach, Dirk Koetter, had made for him. Most of the recruits that had signed were Koetter's.

As this may be true, Erickson still coached that team. His plays were being called. His chosen starting rosters were being played.

What went wrong?

1. Erickson has too much control over his coaches.

This is the preferred situation for DE. Hire guys who have worked underneath him before, insuring that they will abide by his coaching methods.

Given, this is the head coach's job, but diversity is needed within this struggling program. DE needs to give his coaches more freedom in their decisions, because let's admit, DE's coaching style is not working anymore.

2. Erickson's lack of discipline over his team.

It is a well known fact that penalties can lose football games. Unnecessary penalties have plagued the Sun Devil football team for the past two seasons, a few times leading the country in penalty yards given.

The 2008 season consisted of 94 penalties for 802 yards, as the following 2009 season got even worse with 111 penalties for 1027 yards.

Game after game the same penalties were being called, sometimes among the same players. Where is the discipline?

3. Erickson's ego is getting the best of him

Yes, we all know that Erickson has won two national championships and coached several winning teams. But when asked about his lackluster decisions on the field, he usually responds with "I know what I am doing" or "I've done this before."

These are not the answers Sun Devil Fans want to hear.

This ties into the control over his coaches, as mentioned above. Erickson needs to stop covering up his decisions with his past and take credit for his losses.

The strong point of every successful team must be the coaching staff, which the Sun Devils are lacking on the offensive side of the ball.

Will Erickson remain head coach if he brings in a third straight losing season? Not likely. Most programs will let a coach go after two consecutive losing seasons. Erickson's future at Arizona State will ride solely on the 2010 season.

As Sun Devil fans await the upcoming season, they are promised with big recruits and an improved offensive style, but that has been heard before. All they can do is wait and see.