Could Dennis Erickson end up at Utah?


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Super Bowl may be over, meaning fans will have to drudge through the spring and summer months counting down the days till next season, but football is not that far off for players and coaches, especially at the college level.

Signing day is tomorrow (we'll have a full list of the latest commits as they come in), but are the Utes up to something besides just trying to pull in the best recruits from around the country?

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham as the University of Utah and Arizona State University play PAC 12 football Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, in Tempe, Arizona. (Tom Smart, Deseret News)
Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham as the University of Utah and Arizona State University play PAC 12 football Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, in Tempe, Arizona. (Tom Smart, Deseret News)

Signs point to yes, although nothing has been verified at this point.

ESPN700 radio co-host Hans Olsen is reporting that Dennis Erickson was on campus meeting with head coach Kyle Whittingham today.

Who is Dennis Erickson? Most of you know already, but Erickson was the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils up until last season. Erickson also coached at the University of Miami where he won two national championships in 1989 and 1991.

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Erickson's coaching history also includes stops with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

One likely scenario is that Whittingham would bring Erickson in as a mentor to offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, similar to what Utah did with Norm Chow.

It is no secret that Utah's offense has struggled in its transition to the Pac-12, and perhaps bringing in an already established coach that has experience in the league could help spark the Utes in their third go-round in conference play.

Erickson would also provide the Utes a leg up in recruiting against other Pac-12 teams.

Or it could be that Erickson and Whittingham are just good buddies that wanted to catch up and grab some Cafe Rio.

Interesting either way. I hope they got the pork smothered burrito with medium sauce.

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