Vandalism

The University of Idaho's football coach, Nick Holt, resigned last Sunday to take a position as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Rams. The Idaho Statesman quotes Holt as saying, "I feel good about it. It's bittersweet to leave this place, especially when I know it's headed in the right direction. I know we can be good now."

It's not hard to see why he feels good about it. Idaho was 5-18 under his coaching.

The school seems pretty broken up about it as well. Athletic director Rob Spear said, "We're disappointed we're losing Nick. But we're Vandals, so we're excited about a Vandal getting an opportunity at the next level." (Yes, the University of Idaho nickname is the Vandals. There are no reports as to whether any East European barbarian hordes will be suing the NCAA to get them to change it.) Holt left spud country to work for Scott Linehan, the new head coach of the Rams, who is a former Vandal quarterback and assistant coach.

But before he even set foot in the Gateway City, Holt bolted. Spurning the defensive line coaching position offered by the Rams, Holt decided to accept the role of defensive coordinator at the University of Southern California instead. The Statesman has not received a statement from Holt regarding his new position, but they quote him as saying on last Sunday that the Rams job was "an opportunity I just couldn't turn down.''

In the bitter irony department, the U of I has hired former NFL and college head coach Dennis Erickson. Erickson coached for four years at Idaho in the early eighties and ran up a 32-15 record. His overall college record is 144-57-1 over seventeen years.