Erickson takes risk by hiring from his “inner circle”

It was announced earlier today that Noel Mazzone will be the next offensive coordinator for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Not familiar with Mazzone? Don’t worry, Dennis Erickson is, and that might be a problem.

By firing former offensive coordinator Rich Olson, Erickson had a chance to get as close to a “fresh start” as he was ever going to get at ASU. Instead he seems to have repeated his original mistake.

Mazzone, like Olson, is an “Erickson guy”. He was on Erickson’s staff as the running backs and special teams coach at Oregon State in 2002. Now, I realize that Mazzone’s one season with Erickson pales in comparison to Olson’s twelve, but it’s all about perspective.

If Erickson had gone with someone who hadn’t previously been on his staff, it would have made many fans feel better about the hire. It would have shown his willingness to be flexible and given him more of a margin of error with fans and the athletic department.

Instead, by hiring Mazzone, Erickson has put himself in a no-win situation. If the offense struggles once again, he no longer has a scapegoat. The hire ensures that he will have to take the fall. If he had hired someone outside his circle, he probably could have gotten away with throwing another OC under the bus.

If Mazzone’s career stats as an offensive coordinator are any indication, Erickson may be in some trouble. In ten seasons as an OC, Mazzone-led offenses averaged 21.4 points per game and those teams averaged 6 wins. Olson’s offense last season averaged 22.3 points per game during ASU’s 4-win 2009 campaign. I wouldn’t exactly call it a huge upgrade.

Mazzone’s best season as a coordinator came at N.C. State in 2003. The team averaged 37.6 points and 452 yards a game. It also happened to be the one season he had Philip Rivers as his quarterback.

Last time I checked, the Sun Devils don’t have a Philip Rivers-type quarterback on the roster.

It would be one thing if Mazzone was a hot commodity around college football and Erickson was able to snatch him away from another suitor based on his previous experience with him. That wasn’t the case. Mazzone wasn’t even in coaching this season, spending 2009 as a personnel consultant for the New York Jets.

You may not be familiar with Noel Mazzone, but Dennis Erickson is– and his career at ASU will live or die because of it.

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