Herm Edwards speaks out about his time at Arizona State

TEMPE, Ariz. — If you ask any Arizona State football fan, they will tell you about nightmares they’ve had about the Herm Edwards era in Tempe. Edwards left ASU football a shell of the program he inherited, leaving behind a depleted roster and NCAA allegations. Those same allegations led to Arizona State self-inflicting a postseason ban for the 2023 season.

Sun Devil fans cringe when they hear the name Herm Edwards, but what does he think about his time in Tempe?

Herm Edwards comments about his time at Arizona State

Edwards spoke about his time at Arizona State on “The Mike Missanelli Podcast”. Not surprisingly, he has a different view of his years as the head man in Tempe than most.

“This is what I really love doing,” Edwards said. “Bringing along young coaches, to put them in position where they can be head coaches and coordinators. I was giving back my experience to the game of football… 33 years in the National Football League. 33 years in that league, coaching, and playing. So I wanted to give it back, I wanted to bring young coaches in and give them the opportunities. So it was a lot of fun, it really was.”

A lot of fun.

Edwards went 26-20 at Arizona State. He was 1-2 in his final season after the two parties “mutually parted ways” after the Sun Devils suffered a home loss to Eastern Michigan.

26-20 isn’t an awful record, but by far the worst part of his tenure was the NCAA violations. While Edwards is sitting in a cushy chair at ESPN, the program is still dealing with the aftermath.

The effect of Edwards on young coaches

Oh, and those young coaches Edwards wanted to give opportunities to? Antonio Pierce, Edward’s second in command, is now a linebacker coach for the Las Vegas Raiders. Pierce was reportedly the mastermind of the activities that allegedly violated NCAA rules.

Former ASU offensive coordinator Zak Hill is a high school football coach at Saguaro. Some position coaches were really harmed by the violations. Up-and-coming defensive backs coach, Chris Hawkins, is currently coaching at Tustin High School. He realistically will never have the opportunity to coach at a university again.

Hawkins was an elite talent on the field for USC before returning to the Trojans as a graduate assistant. His first official job in coaching was with the Sun Devils, and many spoke highly about him. Now after the allegations, he’s practically blackballed at the NCAA level.

https://x.com/ArmondSr/status/1695825815114752216?s=20

Hawkin’s father recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and aired out the injustice left behind by Edward’s tenure.

I think the Herm Edwards era in Tempe was anything but fun.

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