Rumours have been confirmed that ASU athletic director, Ray Anderson, plans to make ESPN football analyst Herm Edwards the Sun Devils next head coach, pending the university president’s approval. Edwards replaces recently fired coach Todd Graham, who lead the Sun Devils to 46-31 record and 5 bowl appearances during his six year tenure.

Todd Graham was unable to keep his job, despite exceeding expectations with a 7-5 season, a 2nd place PAC-12 South finish, and a win over the program’s biggest rival. ASU was forced to pay Graham a 12 million dollar buyout after his release.  After firing Graham on Sunday, Ray Anderson explained a press conference that he is looking for a head coach who can   “push the Sun Devils into the “top three in the Pac-12” and “top-15 in the nation” regularly and “can recruit four to five-star athletes on a consistent basis.” Those are some lofty goals and expectations for the next man to lead the Sun Devils.

Edwards emerged as a serious candidate for the job on Tuesday, confirming mutual interest and a job interview set for the weekend, while calling into a morning Phoenix radio show Doug and Wolf on ESPN 98.7.  Herm Edwards has been looked at as an obscure hire, considering he has been out of the coaching profession since 2008 when he was fired after a 2-14 season with the Kansas City Chiefs. In addition, he has not coached at the collegiate level since 1989 when he served as a defensive backs coach at San Jose State.  

Edwards has worked as an ESPN football analyst for the last eight years, primarily featured on NFL Live. Edwards, 63, would become the oldest coach in the Pac-12.  Edwards’ overall head coaching record is 57-77. He was 39-41 in five seasons as head coach of the New York Jets from 2001-05, and 15-33 in three seasons leading the Chiefs from 2005-08. He also played defensive back in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles (1979-85), Atlanta Falcons (1986) and Los Angeles Rams (1986), registering 33 interceptions.

Edwards was not a reported candidate for any other jobs on the NCAA coaching carousel. However, he does have personal connections to ASU AD Ray Anderson. Anderson represented Herm Edwards as his agent during the coach’s time in Kansas City.  An A.D. paying 12 million dollars to fire a winning coach to hire a guy who hasn’t coached for a decade and who once employed the A.D. to be his agent is the most perplexing coaching decision we have ever seen.