Report: New update emerges about Herm Edwards job status at Arizona State
Despite losing multiple key assistants after an NCAA investigation, Arizona State coach Herm Edwards might not be going anywhere.
Edwards and Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson told players on Thursday that Edwards will remain the Sun Devils head coach, according to ESPN’s Matt Barrie. Arizona State has seen both coordinators and multiple assistants leave the program in the wake of an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations.
Arizona State defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce resigned Thursday, just days after offensive coordinator Zak Hill did the same after the investigation. Wide receiver coach Prentice Gill, secondary coach Chris Hawkins and tight end coach Adam Breneman are also on their way out.
The question was if Edwards would also stay in Tempe. Edwards was implicated in the report after participating in “impermissible local meetings” with recruits, according to Sun Devil Source. Between March 2020 and May 2021, programs couldn’t meet with recruits in-person due to COVID-19.
Former assistant coordinator for football operations Eric Bowman also allegedly accepted money from football coaches in exchange for Arizona State athletics apparel. He then gave that apparel to recruits without cost.
Arizona State is coming off an 8-5 overall record and 6-3 Pac-12 campaign in 2021. The Sun Devils competed in the Las Vegas Bowl, where they fell to Wisconsin 20-13 on Dec. 30.
More on the Arizona State investigation
In June, it was announced the NCAA was investigating allegations of violations within the Sun Devils football program.
“ASU can confirm the NCAA is conducting an investigation regarding allegations related to our football program,” Arizona State vice president of media relations and strategic communications Katie Paquet told The Athletic in a statement. “In accordance with NCAA bylaws, the university cannot provide further comment at this time.”
An anonymous person sent a dossier of dozens of pages to the Arizona State athletic department. Within this dossier were receipts, pictures, screenshots and emails related to multiple potential recruiting violations committed by the Sun Devils staff.
Among the allegations, Arizona State allegedly hosted recruits during the NCAA-mandated recruiting dead period in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in the spring of 2020 and last until June 1, 2021.
In ESPN’s Pete Thamel’s report of the allegations, he cited multiple sources stating:
“At least 30 players visited campus over a span of months,” Thamel stated. “A practice so common coaches referenced ‘official visit weekends’ in staff meetings, coaches bumped into recruits and families in a back stairwell and a routine developed of facility tours being given around 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. at night.”
Also among the allegations are claims members of the Arizona State coaching staff assisted in arranging trips for recruits to visit campus in Tempe. In the dossier are emails from Regina Jackson, the mother of ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels, allegedly assisting with booking more than $1,100 in flights for recruits and their families on a trip from Florida.