Dennis Erickson (b. Mar. 24, 1947) has spent 47 years of his life coaching football. His best work may very well be the 4 seasons as head coach of the Oregon State Beavers.  His college career was already full of turnarounds and successes at Idaho, Wyoming, Washington State and two National Championships at the University of Miami.

After his first NFL head coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks, the head job at Oregon State came open in January 1999.  Coach Erickson already had a feel for Corvallis and OSU. He had spent time visiting as a young assistant coach and was a candidate for head coach in 1985. No matter the talent, he saw the potential.

Dennis inherited the base of a successful team. Quarterback Jonathan Smith and running back Ken Simonton were sophomores on the verge of greatness. To fill in the gaps, he dipped into the junior college ranks and came up big. T.J. Houshmandzadeh brought big plays at receiver, while DeLawrence Grant and LaDairis Jackson anchored the defensive line.

1999, the first season, was a classic Erickson turnaround. Grown men were moved to tears when the streak of 29 losing seasons ended on November 6 with the victory over Cal. The 7-5 Beavers broke a 35-year streak of no postseason play with a trip to the Oahu Bowl.

That success bred more success. The Beavers welcomed another JC wide out, Chad Johnson, making the Beaver offense even more dangerous.

The 2000 season is arguably the best season in the history of the program. The Beavers near-perfect 11-1 season included a share of the Pac-10 championship. Only a heartbreaking three-point loss at Washington prevented a perfect season. OSU was selected for the Fiesta Bowl and capped the season with a 41-9 thrashing of Notre Dame. The Beavers finished the year ranked #4 in the country and now expectations were sky high. Sports Illustrated picked the Beavs as the #1 team in the country.  The next years would bring another bowl trip and more stellar talent like running back Steven Jackson.

In four seasons, the Erickson record was 31-17 with three bowl trips. The trajectory of the OSU program was changed for the better and would stay that way for much of the next decade.

Another chance to coach in the NFL was too much for the coach to resist and Dennis Erickson would leave for San Francisco.

His OSU experience was memorable enough, he might well have finished his career in Corvallis.

These days Coach Erickson is retired to his favorite spot in Coeur de Alene where he still consults with former players and coaches.