ESPN has an interesting, if

ESPN has an interesting, if all-too-familiar, report on the aftermath at Oregon State now that Dennis Erickson has agreed to become head coach of the 49ers. Erickson is right–there is never a “good time” for a coach to take a better job. The problem isn’t the loyalty of coaches to players–or lack of same–but the system itself. Coaches need to be free to leave but so do the athletes they sign. If a head coach is fired or quits to take another job, all the students that contracted to play for him should be free to transfer to another school without penalty. Let’s quit pretending that athletes who play revenue sports at big-time Division I programs are really students first and are loyal to the school above all. They should be as free as their coaches to do what’s in their best interest.

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