Dennis Erickson’s coaching resume speaks for itself.
He has won two national championships, has a 173-89 career record in college and is the only coach to win the Pac-10 Coach of the Year Award at three different schools.
While, Erickson’s numbers and accomplishments may be impressive as a whole, not everyone is impressed with his tenure in Tempe.
In an interview with 3TV, former ASU wide receiver Kerry Taylor’s displeasure with Erickson was clear.
The station tried to talk to Erickson, but the head coach repeatedly declined requests for comment.
In 2007, Erickson’s first year as head coach of the Sun Devils, he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year after leading ASU to a 10-3 season and a tie for first place in the conference.
It has been a downward spiral ever since.
The Sun Devils haven’t played in a bowl game since that season and have only won 15 games in the past three seasons combined.
Despite Erickson’s past, Taylor feels his time in Tempe was a waste and he encourages high school seniors to avoid a similar fate.
“I tell them don’t make the same mistake I did,” Taylor said. “I wasted four years of my college career.”
Taylor may be the only former player to publically voice his opinion, but he mentioned that “there are a bunch of guys that sit around and say maybe they should have gone somewhere else.
3TV did not get any other player’s on camera, but the station did mention that one player, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed with Taylor’s comments.
Contrary to the anonymous players who supported Taylor’s claim, senior wide receiver Gerrell Robinson publicly voiced his support of Erickson.
“Ill ride wit coach e all day,” Robinson tweeted.
Taylor also voiced discontent with the way Erickson handled the coaching staff and injured players.
According to Taylor, Erickson’s hiring of coaches is an attempt to hangout with his friends rather than to better the team.
“We kind of know this is Erickson’s last sting in coaching so when he brings in coaches that are related to him, he’s just trying to get him and all his buddies a couple of last checks before they retire,” Taylor said.
During his four year career at ASU, Taylor never missed any significant time due to injury yet he had a big problem with the way injured players were treated as he claims that Erickson tried to take away scholarships from players unable to participate, in a sense, removing them from the team.
“I watched guys bust their tails every day at ASU that get injured that come in the locker room and say ‘man coach is trying to pull my scholarship, he wants to give it to somebody else,’” Taylor said. “When you make a commitment to play at ASU, they should honor that commitment.”
Taylor comes from a football family as his uncle and dad both played in the NFL and he believes the Sun Devils are not run the way a football team should be.
Taylor caught 54 passes for 699 yards last season. He also caught three touchdowns and finished with seven in his career.
Taylor may be the closest person to ASU football to speak out against the program as of late, but this is not the first time Erickson’s job security and leadership abilities have been discussed.
The longer the Sun Devils go without appearing in a bowl game, the hotter Erickson’s seat will get.
Taylor was the first player to speak out, but if everything he said was true, he may not be the last.
Erickson suspended Taylor for one game in the 2009 season, but Taylor does not appear to be a player simply with an axe to grind against the coach.
However, Taylor may have an axe to grind about his collegiate football career in general.
Taylor, who came from a football family, had an average career at ASU. He was not drafted and his hopes of an NFL future are hanging by a thread.
While his development as a player may be due to poor coaching, as Taylor appears to feel, it may also be due to lack of talent or any other number of issues.
As Taylor’s playing days are likely coming to an end, the interview comes off as a player who either does not want to acknowledge the fact that his days are numbered, or as a player who accepts the reality yet wants someone to blame.
People have questioned Erickson and people are now questioning Taylor.
It is likely some of Taylor’s testimony is true, but it is also likely some of it is either false or overblown.
There are always two, if not more sides, to every story, but it appears as if Taylor’s side is all we will get to hear.
Reach the columnist at william.boor@asu.edu
