Coaches Davis, Erickson in first meeting

The Browns and 49ers leaders finally will match wits in a football game.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SAN FRANCISCO -- Although their paths have come close to intersecting several times at the NFL and collegiate coaching levels, Butch Davis and Dennis Erickson never have stood on opposite sidelines.
When Erickson was the coach at Washington State in 1987-88, Davis was the defensive line coach for Jimmy Johnson at Miami (Fla.)
In 1989, when Johnson replaced Tom Landry as the Dallas Cowboys coach, Davis went with him, eventually becoming defensive coordinator.
Davis won two Super Bowl rings from 1989-94 in Dallas. During that same time, Erickson won two national championships with the Hurricanes.
In 1995, Erickson accepted the Seattle Seahawks invitation to coach. With probation looming, Miami considered Youngstown State's Jim Tressel before choosing Davis to replace Erickson.
Replaced Palmer
Davis coached the Hurricanes for six seasons and finished second in the nation in 2000, before the Browns hired him to replace Chris Palmer.
Erickson went 31-33 in four seasons with the Seahawks before being dismissed. He returned to the collegiate ranks, coaching Oregon State for four seasons before 49ers owner John York hired him in February to replace Steve Mariucci.
Second-year 49ers cornerback Mike Rumph has played for both Davis and Erickson, and will see some familiar faces on the opposing sidelines today.
"[Browns defensive backs coach] Chuck Pagano was my position coach for three years," said Rumph, the former Hurricane who played for Davis from 1998-2000 before becoming San Francisco's first-round draft pick in April 2002. Also on Davis' Hurricanes staff was Browns defensive assistant Phillip Banko.
As a Hurricane, Rumph played with Browns offensive lineman Joaquin Gonzalez (seventh-round pick in 2002) and wide receiver Andre King (seventh-round pick in 2001).
"And I grew up watching [Browns defensive back] Earl Little play," Rumph said.
Rumph said he has seen Davis several times since joining the NFL. "We both attended a couple of funerals [in Florida]," Rumph said.
Rumph was recruited by Davis to come to Miami, but it wasn't a hard sell.
"I always knew I was going to go to Miami," said the Boyton Beach, Fla., native. "I committed my junior year, so it wasn't Coach Davis' toughest [recruiting] job.
"They were just coming off of probation and I remember him promising me good things [would] lie ahead," Rumph said.
Won national title
Under Larry Coker, the Hurricanes won the 2001 national championship by routing Nebraska in the Rose Bowl three months before five of Davis' recruits were selected in the first round.
None had a tougher adjustment to the NFL than Rumph, who was supposed to ease into the NFL as a nickel back but wound up starting both 49ers playoff games in January after Jason Webster injured an ankle.
Rumph, who was targeted often by opposing quarterbacks last season, said the biggest lesson he learned as a rookie is that "you can't rely alone on physical ability. It's much more of a mental game here.
"Everyone is pretty athletic at this level so the mentality factor and the overall speed of the game are the main differences," said Rumph who is starting in place of the injured Webster and takes the inside slot during nickel coverage. "The receivers and the cornerbacks are pretty much the same speed, but the linemen are so much faster."
williams@vindy.com