One of Troxel's notable hires was his first offensive coordinator, a 27-year-old Dennis Erickson, hired away from alma mater Montana State, who stayed for two seasons. Erickson's successor was Jack Elway, recently at neighboring Washington State, but he left in March after just five weeks on staff to become a head coach in southern California at Cal State Northridge. Despite this turnover at OC before Troxel's third season in 1976, the Vandals in the Big Sky), with center selected as a Division I first-team AP All-American. At the time, it was the Vandals' second-best football record in history, surpassed only by the 1971 team