Arizona State and coach Herm Edwards agreed to “make a change in leadership” one day after the Sun Devils’ 30-21 home loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday night.
“We have made the decision to make a change in the leadership of our football program, effective immediately,” athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement issued Sunday afternoon. “By mutual agreement, coach Edwards and I have determined that he will relinquish duties as our head coach. At the core of this is doing what is best for our current team, staff and university. I understand there are frustrations out there. We must do better and that starts with our decision today.”
Signals emerged Saturday night that Edwards might be done.
The Sun Devils are 1-2, and university president Michael Crow made it clear after the game he wasn’t happy with the direction of the program.
“They showed up to play, and we didn’t,” Crow told The Arizona Republic after the game. “That’s basically the outcome.”
Edwards, 68, has had Crow’s endorsement in the past, but apparently not this time. In his fifth season at Arizona State, Edwards has a 26-20 record with two bowl losses and one win.
“Like anything, when you’re in combat, you support your officers,” Crow said. “And we’re in combat. But we’ll have to decide where we’re going from here and decide what the issues are and see where we’re headed.”
Things won’t get any easier for Arizona State, which begins Pac-12 play on Saturday against Utah, followed by Southern California — both ranked teams — the next week.
Before landing at Arizona State, Edwards coached the New York Jets (2001-05) and Kansas City Chiefs (2006-08) to a combined 54-74 record.
–Field Level Media
