BOISE, Idaho — Dennis Erickson's life story should be told as an '80s flashback on VH-1.

A football journey that featured two national championships and two head coaching jobs in the National Football League has led to where it started, at the University of Idaho, where Erickson is once again the head coach.

"It's good to go around the circle and come back here at the tail end of my career," Erickson said yesterday during the Western Athletic Conference Football Media Preview. "It's real special to me."

Erickson is not at the University of Miami, where he won two national titles, nor with the Seattle Seahawks, nor with the San Francisco 49ers. He is head coach of a program with a small budget and nightmarish recent history.

Erickson could have remained in semi-retirement after being fired by the 49ers following a 2-14 season in 2004. He still receives a paycheck.

"I had a year off, and my wife was ready to kill me," Erickson said. "I've got coaching in my blood. I've done it my whole life. When you sit out a year, you find out how important the game is and how important coaching is. That year off really said, 'Hey, Dennis, coach until you can't coach anymore, then you can sit back and do the things you want to do.' "

Last February, Erickson took over a program that was an emotional wreck. Nick Holt had resigned to accept an assistant coaching job in the NFL.

"We felt a little betrayed," Idaho quarterback Steve Wichman said. "Our head coach is gone, and we're in a panic."

Linebacker David Vobora said: "It was hard. Coach Holt sat in our homes with us. He recruited me. He recruited all of the guys in my class. He sat there and said to our parents, 'I'm going to be here for your son's four years. I'll watch him graduate. We're going to change this thing.' And he ends up leaving."

But a few days later, Erickson emerged as a candidate to succeed Holt. Soon after, Erickson formally accepted.

"We went from one day being so upset and depressed to being excited," Vobora said.

What's more, Erickson does not plan on leaving in the near future.

"This is where I started," he said. "We were planning on ending up in northern Idaho, anyway. It's a good situation. It's going to take some time. We have to recruit and continue to get better."

Erickson said the long-range goal is to improve the facilities. For now, he has expanded his recruiting reach, searching for talent in the junior colleges and California. He also has tried to brighten the team's collective gloom.

"At first, we're all walking on eggshells around this guy," Wichman said. "Everybody is expecting him to be serious. Then he comes around, and he's cracking a couple of jokes, lightening the mood."

Vobora remembered the first time he was invited into Erickson's office. "There's a picture of every sports hero you want to be," Vobora said. "But he's just another guy, down to earth. He's really approachable. It's nice to be able to go up to your coach, sit down and have a conversation. I can say anything I want. He wants you to be open."

Erickson said: "I believe you have to make it fun. To me, they work hard, and they need to have some fun out of it. You can't be just business all of the time."

He said the tone was more serious in the NFL. While he enjoyed his time with the Seahawks, he regrets accepting the 49er job.

"I didn't do my homework," he said. "I didn't understand the (salary) cap and that they would be $25 million over the cap the second year. We just didn't have a chance. I wouldn't recommend that to anybody, to be honest."

These days, Erickson said, he is best known as the coach of a one-time unheralded player.

"Everybody asks me about The Rock because he's on MTV," Erickson said of Honolulu-born actor-wrestler Dwayne Johnson, who played at Miami for two years. "They know him better than Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis."

Asked about another former player, wideout Terrell Owens, Erickson said, grinning: "I've had enough of the National Football League."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.