ASU Football: Anderson discusses transition for Sun Devils

(Photo via Brendan Belfield/WCSN)

Change is afoot in Tempe. After a disappointing loss Saturday night to Eastern Michigan, Herm Edwards is out as the head football coach at Arizona State. ASU Vice President for University Athletics and Athletic Director Ray Anderson called the decision a “mutual agreement” between the two parties resulting in Edwards “relinquishing” head coaching duties.

“You’re always thinking ahead and looking for improvement,” Anderson said. “I’ve been looking all season, and certainly in these first few weeks, for hope, for additional discipline, for additional stepping up in the bright moments and really delivering, and some of that was not occurring…At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you say. The head coach is responsible for developing an environment and a culture and an atmosphere where those things happen, and when you don’t you have to acknowledge it and be prepared to make tough decisions and move on.”

Following the change in staff, running backs coach Shaun Aguano was elevated to interim head coach. Aguano has been with the Sun Devils since January 2019.

“Shaun is in our opinion very deserving of this opportunity,” Anderson said. “…He’s done a heck of a job as you know with our running backs. He’s a longtime very respected high school coach here. I think he’s got the respect of not just all the players, but certainly all of the current staff, and [I] felt that he would be a good burst of that energy and urgency that we needed.”

During Aguano’s tenure, Sun Devil running backs have excelled. Most notably, former ASU running backs Eno Benjamin and Rachaad White impressed the masses well enough to earn spots on NFL rosters with the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.

This season alone, graduate running back Xazavian Valladay has stood out, racking up 361 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns through the first three weeks of the season, ranking first in both categories.

Redshirt sophomore Daniyel Ngata has also shown flashes during his time as a Sun Devil. Last season he amassed 309 yards and four touchdowns on the ground behind the aforementioned White. This season, despite still playing second fiddle behind Valladay, Ngata has rushed for 123 yards.

Sun Devils personnel can only hope that Aguano’s past success with the running backs will transfer over to the entire program and ease the pain of what Anderson called the “toughest decision of [his] professional career.”

“…We’ve known each other a long time and we’ve always been very honest,” Anderson said. “We did not get it done here at the level that any of us aspired to, and when it’s time for change, you make the change. So we feel like, for this current team for our future for our staff for our university, this is the appropriate change at the appropriate time.”

While the decision didn’t come easy to Anderson, after almost five seasons of results falling short of expectations, the change was inevitable.

When Edwards was hired in December 2017, many dubbed his hiring an experiment. All eyes turned toward the Sun Devils to see how Edwards’ coaching experience in the NFL would translate to the college level.

Anderson, among many others, hoped that Edwards’ hiring would help revolutionize college football and keep ASU in line with its trademark innovation. But in just Edwards’ fifth season, it was clear this would not be the case.

“You always hope that new ideas and innovations work when you think you need it to make a real change at the time, and I thought a new way of approaching training and developing and recruiting was needed here,” Anderson said. “So no I don’t regret it at all because I believe it was the right thing to do then, but I also believe, when you come to a point where you realize that you’re not always right and perhaps it’s not working at the level you want…then you make changes, and I think that’s what we’ve done.”

While the landscape of college football did change during Edwards’ time as a Sun Devil, it was to no effort of his own. Edwards was slow to adjust to all the new components of college athletics that now have the power to make or break a program.

Fans and media alike have flooded ASU with criticism for their inability to capitalize on the NCAA’s new Name, Image and Likeness rules. Additionally, the Sun Devils have failed to maintain highly ranked prospects. Coming into this season, ASU lost 18 players to the transfer portal, many of whom would have been starters for the Sun Devils. In their new colors, several of these athletes have exceeded the expectations that they failed to even come close to while at ASU.

Anderson implied Sunday that ASU will be looking for future head coaching candidates to be in tune with the new rules and regulations, having the ability to use them to the Sun Devils’ advantage rather than their detriment.

“We will be looking to have a fit with someone, very frankly, who is probably going to be a little more in tune with the evolving change and landscape in college athletics,” Anderson said. “I can tell you, it’s changing rapidly, and you’ve got to have someone who is willing to take all that additional change on because it’s going to continue to change, so you’ve got to have that energy, that spirit, and very frankly, you might have to have the youth to deal with this new breed.

Despite the controversy of an NCAA investigation surrounding the program over the past couple of years – and potential punishment from the NCAA still looming – Anderson was confident that there will be plenty of interest in the position, expecting candidates from all over and with all different types of backgrounds to throw their hats in the ring for the Sun Devils’ head coaching spot.

“I will certainly be involved, I don’t know what the format or the structure will undertake,” Anderson said. “Right now we’re focused on right now. That search will be a national search. I anticipate it will be exhaustive, because I know there’s going to be great interest in the position…There are a lot of folks who think this is a very coveted job, and very frankly, there’s going to be a lot of interest.”

Anderson declined to comment on how the outcome of the investigation could affect the program moving forward, including the search for a new head coach.

Despite the uncertainty in the leadership role for ASU football, the Sun Devils will focus on playing out the rest of their season before honing in on the future of the program. With nine games left to play, the Sun Devils will try to navigate their way through a gauntlet of teams consisting of the No. 13 ranked Utah Utes, the No. 7 ranked USC Trojans and the No. 18 ranked Washington Huskies before reaching their week seven bye. Following the week off, the schedule is expected to be somewhat easier.

Impressive performances by the Sun Devils following Edwards’ exit could be bright signs for the coaching staff who hope to salvage this season. With Aguano at the helm and Anderson, coaches and players in support, this change could be what ASU Football needed.

“We are looking forward to starting the Pac-12 season,” Anderson said. “That future begins now. Very frankly, our responsibility is to try to infuse new energy, new urgency into the program…I think everybody is understanding that we’ve got nine games, and hopefully, a 10th game, if we can pull it all together, and they’re rolling up their sleeves because they want to support this team first and foremost…”