ASU Football: Decision to fire Graham negatively impacts the program

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

Todd Graham was relieved of his duties as ASU football coach Sunday morning after six seasons in which he amassed a 46-31 record. A few hours after the news broke, Athletic Director Ray Anderson held a press conference to justify the firing.

In the span of 30 minutes, Anderson made a great argument against his own decision.

Anderson emphasized that the football program is in a “much better place today than it was six years ago.” He acknowledged that Graham did a “marvelous” job molding student-athletes and made sure his players were good citizens, students and role models.

It came down to winning enough games, according to Anderson. He expects the Sun Devils to compete for a Pac-12 championship and major bowl game every year. Graham’s achievements were not enough to satisfy his requirements.

But how does firing him help get you closer to that point?

“I’ve got four years to evaluate that I think we’ve been average,” Anderson said. “I’ve got to believe that with better leadership in terms of competitive consistency, the performance and preparation to perform on Saturday nights, will elevate us.”

Yeah — but will it, though?

There isn’t a head coach out there who cares about the long-term success of this ASU program more than Todd Graham. Not Kevin Sumlin, not Les Miles, not Brett Bielema or anybody else. Sure, there might be bigger names on the market with more recruiting prowess, but how will the culture Graham put in place not be adversely effected?

“All of those things are talked about very much in detail from the get-go,” Anderson said. “To the extent that I have any reservations that (a candidate) has failed to buy into that, they won’t be here.”

That sounds nice to donors and advertisers who want to invest their dollars in the athletic department, but Anderson is forgetting about the most important people that need to buy in: The players.

Firing a head coach takes an emotional toll on players, especially if they’re bought into the philosophy of the person being fired. The values they learned from that coach are tested and sometimes questioned in the face of an event like this. Recruits who were committed or leaning toward ASU will need heavy convincing not to jump ship and explore other options.

Every problem Anderson pointed out is exacerbated by his decision to fire Graham. Hiring a new coach won’t magically put the pieces back together or elevate the program to national powerhouse status.

Not only is Anderson’s vision unrealistic, the method by which he hopes to achieve it is inherently flawed.

You can’t run an athletic program like a business, as Anderson wants to do, and make decisions that reduce the productivity, engagement and general well being of your “workers.” That’s a business model that might be profitable in the short term, but flies in the face of everything Anderson says he wants this program to be.

This decision was unfair and misguided. Graham proved that by making the surprising decision to speak with the media on Sunday immediately after Anderson. Graham didn’t expect to be fired, but he put on a smile anyway and expressed his gratitude toward the program he rebuilt.

“We teach these players how important finishing is. I want to finish,” Graham said. “We’ll do it in a first class manner and I told Ray and the administration that we would do everything in our power to help out with this process.

“It’s about being a Sun Devil. It’s not about one person.”

Graham’s philosophy at ASU always centered around four words: Character, smart, discipline, tough. On Sunday, Ray Anderson fired a man of high character who instilled discipline and toughness in his players. It certainly wasn’t a smart decision.

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