ESPN analyst, Herm Edwards, is reportedly a "serious candidate" to take over heading coaching duties for Arizona State University's football program, according to ESPN. Herm is expected to interview for the vacant position this week.
Edwards, 63, has not coached since 2008 when he went 2-14 as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. He coached the Chiefs from 2006-08, after several seasons with the New York Jets, accumulating a 54-74 record over his eight seasons between both franchises. The last time he coached at the college level was back in 1989, when he oversaw the defensive backs at San Jose State.
Today on SportsCenter, he spoke about his ability to coach a college program after watching from the sidelines for nearly a decade.
Per ESPN,
"Some people say, 'He's been out of football for a long time.' No I haven't. I just haven't coached football," Edwards told SportsCenter on Wednesday. "My mind and my passion is still in football. I coach it every day that I walk into this studio. I visit a lot of college campuses, [have] spoken to a lot of college teams, gone to college practices. ... I'm interested."
In speaking about his most recent coaching experience, which came at the Under Armour All-American game this year, Edwards said he's a coach at heart and enjoys leading young, talented players.
"Believe it or not, that is one of the funnest weeks I have," Edwards said. "Every year, I look forward to coaching that game. Why? It's young, talented players to come out of high school. ...
"It's fun. At heart, I'm still a coach. I'm always a coach."
During an interview on the Doug & Wolf radio show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this morning, Herm noted that he has a connection with ASU's athletic director, Ray Anderson, which is one of the reasons he is taking the interview in the first place.
Per AZCentral,
"I've gotten a lot of calls in my career here on television,'' Edwards said. "Answered some and said, 'No thank you.' This is one that there's a connection with the AD there, Ray Anderson and myself, that I owe him to come down there and speak. And so, that's where it's at."
Arizona State fired head coach Todd Graham on Sunday after leading the Sun Devils to a 46-31 record in six seasons, including a 7-5 record this year. Graham and his coaching staff will remain with the team through their bowl game.