Assessing the Arizona State opening: Why Herm Edwards was fired, how good is the job, the early candidates for the Sun Devils

After a stunning Saturday night loss to FCS Eastern Michigan where the Eagles were paid $1.5 million to troll Herm Edwards, Arizona State finally moved on from its floundering head coach just three games into his fifth season. 

Edwards was 26-20 with the Sun Devils, including 1-2 in 2022. The 69-year-old former New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs brought a “out-of-the-box” NFL leadership model to ASU, but the unconventional approach crashed and burned in the desert.

Why was Herm Edwards fired?

The Sun Devils had a pair of bowl appearances under Edwards, but on the field, they were mostly boringly bad the last few seasons. They went 2-2 during the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, but were 8-5 a year ago only uncompetitive in several blowout losses. ASU was the most penalized Power 5 team in the country last season, too. 

And while the on-field results were middling, everything happening off-the-field in Tempe ultimately led to Edwards’ ousting. 

Edwards was hired by ASU athletics director Ray Anderson, his longtime friend and former agent. The two concocted a supposed “NFL new leadership model” where Edwards would serve as a defacto general manager and everything would flow from his seat. 

It was a disaster, particularly in recruiting, where Edwards’ lack of interest and oversight eventually led to an open NCAA investigation for allegedly hosting recruits during the non-contact period at the height of the pandemic. The investigation was opened in July of 2021, as several disgruntled ASU staffers leaked evidence of the Sun Devils’ program brazenly breaking NCAA rules. 

Five assistants, including Edwards’ hand-picked No. 2 Antonio Pierce, were fired. 

With a skeleton staff, ASU’s already struggling recruiting class tanked, signing the lowest-ranked groupmj in the Pac-12 in 2022. Meanwhile, the roster became as baron as the desert, with all the Sun Devils’ best players — quarterback Jayden Daniels (LSU), top wideouts Ricky Pearsall (Florida), Johnny Wilson (FSU) and LV Bunkely-Shelton (Oklahoma), defensive tackle Jermayne Lole (Louisville) and linebacker Eric Gentry (USC) — bouncing for the transfer portal. 

How good of a job is Arizona State?

There are a couple different ways to look at the opening at Arizona State. 

On the one hand, the program might be at its nadir considering the current roster, looming NCAA sanctions and an AD on thin ice. ASU has also been leapfrogged by in-state rival Arizona, with Jedd Fisch showing recruiting chops Edwards did not. 

And yet, Arizona State is also viewed as a sneaky great gig by some in the coaching industry. 

The Sun Devils have fantastic facilities. The weather is awesome. The recruiting footprint is really good, too — with access to Phoenix, which is pumping out tons of Power 5 prospects (especially quarterbacks), and California. The recent news of the expanded College Football Playoff should make Arizona State more attractive, too. 

With the guarantees in a 12-team playoff, the Pac-12 is likely to survive was a Power 5 conference. 

How much Arizona State can pay is a bit unknown. Anderson ate $12 million to fire Todd Graham in 2018, and Edwards was making around $3.5 million in 2022. 

Who are the early rumored candidates?

The initial hot board lists for Arizona State have run the gamut from current NFL head coaches on hot seats (Matt Rhule at Carolina and Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona), to college retreads rehabilitating their brand as TV analysts (Tom Herman, Dan Mullen), to veterans who recently left longtime jobs (Gary Patterson and Bronco Mendenhall) and some notable hot offensive coordinators (Todd Monken, Jeff Grimes, Kenny Dillingham). 

ESPN’s Pete Thamel also listed several current head coaches as potential candidates, including BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith, Air Force’s Troy Calhoun and Marshall’s Charles Huff. 

But by far the most interesting name on multiple lists was Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin. 

Could ASU be the perfect parachute landing spot for the much-maligned Tigers’ head coach? Harsin’s days look numbered on The Plains, but he’s a solid coach who had Auburn ranked in the Top-12 just last November. 

Outside of coaching at Auburn, Harsin has spent his entire career coaching west of the Mississippi, and he won 10 or more games five times at Boise State. 

It’s a wild thought to think the current coach at Auburn would leave for a much lesser job, but it could be the perfect exit strategy for all parties — Harsin gets a fresh start and the Tigers save some coin on a $18 million buyout. 

We’ll see.