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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Everett native Dennis Erickson was one of two coaches selected Monday for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Erickson, 71, spent 23 seasons as a college head coach. In stints at Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State, Miami, Oregon State and Arizona State he compiled a record of 179-96-1.
Erickson enjoyed his greatest success at Miami from 1989-94, posting a 63-9 record and winning two national titles.
After a four-year stint as the head coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks (1995-1998), Erickson took over the program at Oregon State in 1999 and sparked a massive turnaround. In his first season, he led the Beavers to their first winning season in 29 years and their first bowl appearance in 35 years. Erickson’s best season at Oregon State came in 2000, when helped the program earn a share of the Pac-10 Conference title for the first time since 1964. The Pac-10 Coach of the Year that season, he guided Oregon State to an 11-1 record, a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and the No. 4 ranking in the final Associated Press poll, the highest finish in school history.
After two seasons as head coach of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and a return season at Idaho, Erickson accepted the head-coaching job at Arizona State in 2007. In his first season, he once again claimed Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors after leading the Sun Devils to a 10-win season and a share of the Pac-10 title.
A graduate of Everett High School, Erickson was a two-time All-Big Sky quarterback at Montana State. Before landing his first head-coaching job at Idaho, he served as an assistant coach at Montana State, Idaho, Fresno State and San Jose State.
In addition to Erickson, the 2019 Hall of Fame Class includes coach Joe Taylor, who won 233 games at historically black colleges, and 13 players — Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Oklahoma defensive back Rickey Dixon, John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher, Texas A&M defensive lineman Jacob Green, North Carolina State receiver Torry Holt, Notre Dame wide receiver Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer, USC defensive back Troy Polamalu, Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Florida State defensive back Terrell Buckley, Michigan State running back Lorenzo White, Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis and Texas quarterback Vince Young.
The Goodyear Blimp was named an honorary member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
The inductees will be enshrined at the National Football Foundation’s awards banquet in December.
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