In Idaho they have ample reason to bemoan their head football coach, Dennis Erickson, skipping off to Arizona State yesterday after too many long-term promises and just one season on the sideline.

Here, the disappointment should be over the missed opportunities that come with the Sun Devils not having Erickson coach against the University of Hawai'i in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Eve.

Alas, ASU has said its deposed coach, Dirk Koetter, will guide the Sun Devils Dec. 24 while Erickson hits the recruiting trail. Since they aren't delivering the school band, is it too late for bowl officials to demand the Sun Devils at least produce Erickson?

I mean, how many times in college football do you have a chance to beat the same coach twice in one season at two different schools? Less than two months apart, too. A coach with a couple national championships to boot.

Had Erickson worked the bowl game and lost to UH — which is listed as an 8-point favorite on the Las Vegas betting lines — he could have become the answer to a Warrior trivia question: Name the coach that lost to UH at four different schools.

Erickson, who is quickly becoming the Larry Brown of college football, has already crossed paths with UH while coaching at Wyoming (1986), Oregon State (1999) and Idaho (2006). But, hey, he's only 59 and given his wanderlust, there might still be time for a couple more meetings down the road.

In that, Erickson would be the reverse of the well-traveled Dennis Franchione, who beat UH while at Alabama (2002), Texas Christian (1999 and 2000) and New Mexico (1993-95). One wonders when Franchione's current team, Texas A&M, will find its way on to UH's schedule. Here's one coach who presumably wouldn't moan about coming back to Hawai'i.

Which brings up the curious possibility of John L. Smith, formerly of Michigan State, Louisville, Idaho, etc., finding himself back in Moscow, Idaho. After his constant bleatings about Western Athletic Conference officials, travel to Hawai'i, you name it, how delicious would it be to have him back in the conference a year after he prevailed upon the Spartans to try and worm out of next season's game at Aloha Stadium?

Apart from some interesting scenarios, what this latest round of musical chairs in the coaching profession underlines is how remarkable and how well UH has had it. June Jones is finishing up his eighth and best season, putting UH way ahead of the national average in retention, something often gone unappreciated.

At Idaho, which is seeking its third coach in three seasons, that's something they only dream about.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.