Even in a month full of teams apparently yanking coaching candidates from a hat, there may not be a match more bizarre than the one that came to light Tuesday afternoon.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Arizona State will interview Herm Edwards (currently an NFL analyst) for its head coaching vacancy. The Sun Devils’ interest in Edwards was first reported by Paul Calvisi of Arizona Sports 98.7FM and Zach Barnett of Football Scoop. The program’s coaching job is open after athletic director Ray Anderson fired coach Todd Graham on Sunday following a 7-5 season.
Edwards (who had reportedly been serving as sounding boards for Anderson during the coaching search, in addition to his former NFL colleague Tony Dungy) fits the Sun Devils’ stated decision for someone with previous coaching experience, and he would provide the splash Anderson is reportedly looking for.
But this is the same Herm Edwards who has not coached in nearly a decade. The same one whose only college experience came as defensive backs coach at San Diego State in the late 1980s. The same one who was fired from three NFL jobs thanks to a 54-74 overall record and who has since spent his time talking about pro football in a studio.
Still, when news of Edwards’ candidacy broke Tuesday, most observers were either confused…
is there another herm edwards i have missed knowing about for several decades https://t.co/dLTktlK57t
— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) November 28, 2017
Amused…
https://twitter.com/jtylerconway/status/935638956217167872
Outraged…
Nothing against Herm Edwards but Arizona State hiring him over Mike Norvwell would be criminal negligence. Damn ADs are dumb…
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) November 28, 2017
Or, in the case of Arizona fans, overjoyed…
Right now, in the Arizona football offices: Please let the Herm Edwards thing be true. Please. PLEASE!
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) November 28, 2017
It’s possible that Arizona State leaked news of their interest in Edwards to see if they were in for a public backlash (the likes of which we saw over the weekend with Greg Schiano and Tennessee, although under different circumstances). It’s also possible the hostile reaction will cause Anderson and company to back away slowly.
Or, you know, Edwards will become the next head coach at Arizona State and at least we’ll all be treated to some fun press conferences.
