SB Nation Arizona - ASU Coaching Search: Pitt's Todd Graham Reportedly Leaving For Arizona State

ASU Hires Pitt's Todd Graham As New Head Coach, How Long Will He Stay?

2011-12-14T18:00:10Z

Day 17 of Arizona State's head coaching search will apparently be the last, as the Sun Devils reportedly will hire Todd Graham of Pittsburgh to replace Dennis Erickson.

The 47-year-old Graham will be coming to Tempe after one season at Pitt, in which he lead the Panthers to a pedestrian 6-6 mark.

Prior to Pitt, Graham made his mark at Tulsa, where he led the Golden Hurricanes to three 10-win seasons in his four years there. Graham has had great success leading dynamic offenses, as Tulsa led the nation in total offense twice and finished second during his tenure. His ties to the lucrative Texas recruiting region are also a plus.

While his offensive success does make for a good fit in ASU, his defense have typically been sub-par, something that is worrisome given his background as a defensive coach. However, the real concern is far more pressing: How long will he be here?

ASU will mark his fourth head coaching job in the last six seasons. The Sun Devil program is in dire need of a coach who can settle down in Tempe and begin building the program the administration and fans expect from team. Nothing disrupts a program more than instability and turnover at the head coaching spot, and now ASU must be leery of being burned by Graham just as Pitt was.

Could ASU be just another of Graham's stepping stones as he moves around the college football landscape? His resume indicates it's a very real possibility.

In any event, this hiring ends one of the darkest chapters in school history, one that saw the program become a source of mockery and let one of it's most valuable coaches flee.

Graham will have his work cut out for him. Whether he stays long enough to finish it remains to be seen.

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ASU Coaching News: Pitt's Todd Graham Reportedly Leaving For Arizona State

2011-12-14T17:49:00Z

The search for a new head football coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils has been a tumultuous whirlwind of dizzying information over the past few weeks, and now out of the fray comes another possibly candidate as multiple reports on Twitter have Pittsburgh's Todd Graham leaving the program to become the new head coach down in Tempe.

Via Pat Forde on Twitter:

@YahooForde
Pat Forde Yahoo! Sports confirms Todd Graham is leaving Pittsburgh for Arizona State. Story to come.
Dec 14 via webFavorite RetweetReply

SB Nation's own Brad Denny on Twiiter:

@BDenny29
Brad Denny Wow, @chris_gates, reporter for 93.7 in Pittsburgh saying Todd Graham is #ASU's pick. Pitt player reaction and all.
Dec 14 via HootSuiteFavorite RetweetReply

The reports are still coming in from all over the country, but many of Pitt's own players are reacting on Twitter as if Graham has already packed his bags and said his goodbyes.

Pitt free safety Andrew Taglianetti:

@Andrew_Tags
Andrew Taglianetti So birmingham will be the EXACT same as last year. This is crazy
Dec 14 via Twitter for iPhoneFavorite RetweetReply

Graham began his collegiate coaching career as the linebackers coach for Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia back in 2001, becoming defensive co-coordinator the following season, and just defensive coordinator in 2003. After a stint at Rice in 2006 he left for Tulsa, where he was the head coach until Jan. of 2011 when he took the position at Pitt, which he will now leave after only a single year on the job. He also had a short stint with the Arizona Cardinals as a player as well.

Graham prefers to run a spread-type offense, while his defense is similar to that of the three-man stack employed by West Virginia. Should bring a lot of excitement to the field down in Tempe, and hopefully a lot of success as well.

For more on the Sun Devils head over to House of Sparky. For all the latest AZ sports news, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.

ASU Coaching News: Amidst Disastrous Search, Sun Devils Lose Steve Broussard To UCLA

2011-12-14T04:57:20Z

The last few months have been tough on the Arizona State Sun Devils. They ended the season poorly, fell to their in-state rivals at home, dropped to the Las Vegas Bowl after some had dreams of Roses, and fired their head coach after four years.

With a disastrous coaching search at the forefront of ASU right now, the program suffered yet another blow on Tuesday: Steve Broussard has left the program to coach at UCLA. Doug Haller has the news:

Arizona State receivers coach Steve Broussard has accepted a position to join Jim L. Mora's staff at UCLA, where he will coach running backs.

"It's unfortunate I couldn't stay here, but I'm excited," Broussard said. "I got a lot of family in (Los Angeles), and it's a good situation."

Broussard is the first of Dennis Erickson's assistants to publicly accept a coaching position with another school. Erickson was fired Nov. 28 and the search for his replacement continues.

There's a good chance that all of ASU's assistants will move on, but the big blow here is recruiting. Broussard, in his second season with the Sun Devils, was considered ASU's best recruiter, and he was responsible for many of ASU's 2012 commitments. For that reason, ASU likely would've tried to persuade its next coach to keep him on staff.

Many of the Sun Devils' recruits pledged to stay committed to ASU despite the firing of Erickson, but that may change now with yet another member of the coaching staff leaving. While the athletic department continues to scramble to find their next head coach, other coaches and programs around the country can swoop in and start recruiting the players who figured they would be in Tempe next summer.

This is not a good situation for the football program right now. For more, head on over to House Of Sparky.

ASU Coaching Search: From Bad To Worse To Disaster

2011-12-13T16:35:06Z

As a columnist covering the Arizona State Sun Devils, journalistic objectivity is a necessity to provide accurate analysis on the news and events surrounding the team, even if it comes in a decidedly negative light. As a second-generation alumus of ASU, I hope for the best for the school and the team that has been a big part of my life.

There are distinct times and a places for each of those parts to be brought forward, and rarely do they intersect. Now is one of those few times where they are in total alignment.

This coaching search is an unmitigated disaster for the Sun Devils, and could very well set the program back for years.

The extent of the damage has gone beyond simply striking out thus far in an attempt to replace the fired Dennis Erickson. It has now cost the program two key assistants, likely several key recruits, the faith of a fanbase, a good portion of their upcoming dollars, as well as local and national respect.

But other than that, things are great.

ASU began this search a little over two weeks ago with one thing on their mind: Kevin Sumlin. The administration had identified the Houston head coach as their top target to replace Erickson and were prepared to meet with him after the Conference USA title game. However, when Texas A&M fired Mike Sherman and also made Sumlin their priority, the Sun Devils chose not to engage in a fight over Sumlin and canceled their trip.

Surely, ASU had a Plan B in place, as most well-run enterprises would have in a situation this important.

Nope, not at all. Let the panic moves begin.

Due to ties to SMU through major boosters and their hired search firm, ASU then approached SMU head coach June Jones over the same weekend they were originally due to talk with Sumlin. By all accounts, it went well, but the backlash from other boosters and nearly all of the fanbase was swift and decisive--no Jones. By that Sunday, it appeared ASU had made a crowed appeasing decision and planned to move forward with speaking with the still unsigned Sumlin, Southern Mississippi's Larry Fedora and Baylor's Art Briles.

Yet, the school then rekindled their talks with Jones again, this time appearing very close to consummating the deal. As before, the deal was ultimately pulled off the table. On the surface, it was seemingly due to the same fan and booster outrage, although the underlying reason behind the move was heavily steeped in Jones' character issues and concerns. For a university in as much NCAA hot water as ASU, the risk was not worth the potential reward.

However, Jones' agent Leigh Steinberg and the national media made efforts to paint ASU as having pulled the offer without explanation. ASU was not just without a coach, but in the eyes of many they were also the mean ol' university that got poor June's hopes up only to dash them without so much as a cruel laugh.

The transition from bad to worse was moving along in full force.

After the second Jones fiasco, ASU issued a statement urging people not to believe what they hear and to trust they were running a "broad, thorough and highly professional search for a new football coach". That also happened to coincide with a conflicting report from ArizonaSports.com that ASU's search would not consider young up-and-coming coaches who did not have prior head coaching experience.

The days began to drag on. Each passing day was one less chance for a new regime to begin assembling a staff or to try to keep Erickson's touted 2012 recruiting class intact. By the end of last week, all of ASU's preliminary and heralded targets had seemingly been taken off the list, either because they had been hired elsewhere or that they didn't meet certain criteria (Paul Chryst and Jim Leavitt).

All the while, the other schools around the nation were filling their open coaching vacancies, and this doesn't factor in the swift and decisive hirings that Washington State and Arizona made weeks ago. Fedora went to North Carolina, Sumlin to Texas A&M and UCLA finally made their hire with their--at best--fourth choice in Jim Mora Jr.

Still, ASU silently waited.

Talk then emerged that Tennessee defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox was now the favorite remaining prospect of ASU.

Hey, would you look at that? Progress! Awesome. Wilcox has an impressive resume and would seemingly make a great fit at Arizona State. He also would seem inclined to keep current offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone and wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Steve Broussard, something very important to ASU.

Surely, ASU has already contacted Wilcox' camp and begun negotiations.

As of Monday afternoon, they had not.

Wait, what?

Really, ASU? Logic would dictate that the purported Triumverate of power in this search--university president Michael Crow, Athletic Director Lisa Love and Chief Operation Office of Athletics Steve Patterson--had been diligently working on rectify this increasing bizarre and damning situation posthaste. But as has been proven time and time again during the last 16 days, logic has no place in this search.

Through that time, the damage to program had been largely external. Yes, the fanbase, boosters and media all expressed their dismay, disapproval and disbelief in how this search was playing out, but for the most part, that all occurred outside the protective walls of ASU.

But no longer. The final straw has snapped. After their national reputation and local goodwill had fallen by the wayside, ASU is now dealt a blow that many feared would come if the Sun Devils did not take swift action.

Monday afternoon, reports surfaced that UCLA was preparing to poach Broussard and Mazzone from ASU. Early Tuesday morning, that appears to have happened, as Broussard has reportedly punched his ticket to join Mora's staff in Westwood. Mazzone has also been reported as heavily leaning towards following Broussard out the door, either to UCLA or he could find his way onto Sumlin's staff at Texas A&M.

It doesn't end there.

With so many of ASU's coveted recruiting class tied to those two men, the outreach to transition the recruit's commitments to UCLA has already begun, and the damage there can not be undersold. This recruiting class was the one that would help ASU turn the corner from sleeping giant to Pac-12 power; the one that would lay the foundation for another golden era of Sun Devils football.

It very well could prove to be the catalyst in turning around a once proud program, but it will be the Bruins of UCLA instead of the sleeping Devils of ASU.

HouseOfSparky.com recently posted an article in which fans proposed songs of the soundtrack of the coaching search. While clever, those are now rendered irrelevant, as only a funeral dirge may be able to fully capture the essence of what has happened to ASU in the last six weeks.

On November 5th, the Sun Devils were 6-2 and the titans of the South division. Six weeks later, they are the punchlines of the sport. Even the most supportive and staunch Sun Devil supporters have already begun expressing their serious doubts, and many have taken actions such as stopping donations or canceling season tickets.

Whenever a hire is made, the Triumverate will undoubtedly polish the situation up in fancy rhetoric, and the coach may, just may, turn out to be a good fit. But at what price? The answer is clear: "far too steep". There is simply no excuse for the powers that be behind this debacle to remain in a position where they can continue to make such damaging decisions.

Change--in a form both swift and decisive--must be made. Again.

Until that time, there are but two things to do.

The alum in me shakes a disbelieving head to cover up a broken heart, while the columnist can do nothing more than type what could very well be an obituary.

Follow me on Twitter @BDenny29 for the latest news and insight into ASU football

For all the latest AZ sports news, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.

ASU Coaching Search Stalls: Kyle Whittingham To Stay In Utah

2011-12-12T23:18:24Z

The drama that is the search for a new Arizona State University head football coach continues to march on. We trust that someday, somehow, someway the school will end up finding someone to take over the Sun Devils from Dennis Erickson. Meanwhile, the latest name that emerged as a leading candidate for the job, Utah's Kyle Whittingham, appears to be off the market.

Here's the latest from the newspapers in Salt Lake City:

Utah football: Utah, Whittingham have new deal in works | The Salt Lake Tribune
Even as Utah coach Kyle Whittingham continues to be mentioned in the coaching rumor mill as a candidate for openings at Arizona State and Penn State, the Utah Utes are preparing to make him a slightly richer man.

Utah Utes: Kyle Whittingham gets a raise | Deseret News

University officials have confirmed that Whittingham's salary, which includes UnderArmour and other monies, will increase from $1.7 to $2 million per year covering the next five seasons.

Reading those reports carefully, however, it does not say with full certainty that Whittingham is staying, just that he agreed to a raise in pay. Given all that's gone with search, the one thing we've learned is not to count out anything until there's a press release from ASU. So far, no one has been hired so no one else can be rules out. Right?

As for other names to ponder, one that seems to be getting some play in the rumor mill (warning, this only a rumor) is Tennessee defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox. Here's what Sun Devils blog House of Sparky has to say about him:

ASU Coaching Search: And Then There Was One? - House Of Sparky

This seemingly leaves Wilcox as the one candidate whose consideration has not waned or been eliminated entirely. Wilcox has seemingly been at or near the top of ASU's list for the last several days and his position can only be strengthened as the search enters its third week. He has generated a lot of positive traction with his terrific performance leading the defenses at Boise State from 2006-2009 and for the last two years at Tennessee

It's a good thing this coaching search stuff isn't a distraction to the players as they get ready for a trip to the Vegas Bowl.

ASU Coaching Search: Utah's Kyle Whittingham Views Opening As Ideal Job

2011-12-10T16:55:21Z

The Arizona State Sun Devils are still without their next head coach and just about every available name in the country has been rumored at this point. While the fan base anxiously and eagerly awaits the decision of Lisa Love and the Athletic Department, there seems to be a name that has begun to stand out recently: Kyle Whittingham.

Whittingham, 52, is the current head coach of the Utah Utes. He has a 65-25 record in seven seasons at Utah, including an undefeated season and Sugar Bowl victory in 2009. Whittingham has just two years remaining on his contract, and according to this report, he may view Tempe as the perfect spot:

Sources close to Utah's head coach and the ASU football program have indicated there is mutual interest, with one source saying Whittingham's "ideal job" would either be coaching Arizona State or a California school. FOXSportsArizona.com was unable to learn whether athletic director Lisa Love has contacted Whittingham or his agent, Bruce Tollner, so ASU's level of interest is difficult to gauge. Tollner did not return messages left for him.

Of course these may be the sources who indicated Kevin Sumlin would be the next head coach of ASU football or that June Jones was a done deal, but the news does bring some curiosity into the mix. Whittingham is generally liked by the Utah alumni and boosters and it is unlikely the school would let him leave without putting up a fight. And if negotiations were to turn ugly, it would be just a few short months before the Sun Devils and Utes were set to square off in Pac-12 play.

Kyle Whittingham is definitely a name to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. ASU is more than ready to make a hire and he appears to have all of the credentials Lisa Love was looking for. It's anyones guess who is currently the leading candidate, but you have to expect Whittingham's name to be near the top of the list.

For more on the Devils, head on over to House Of Sparky.

ASU Coach Search Rumors: Sun Devils Rule Out Coordinators For Head Coach Job

2011-12-09T17:42:44Z

As the ongoing search for a new head coach lingers in for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Paul Calvisi of Arizona Sports is reporting that they school will not consider anoy coordinators for their head coaching position, instead want candidates with head coaching experience to take over in Tempe.

Steve Patterson, chief operating officer of Sun Devil Athletics and managing director of the Sun Devil Sports Group, made it clear to "expect next ASU head coach to have HC experience. No coordinators." This would effectively eliminate some of the newest names popping up in the last 36 hours as candidate for the position.

The new names on the block Thursday were Justin Wilcox, Tennessee's 36-year-old defensive coordinator, as well as Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst and Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. All now considered to be non-candidates once more considering Patterson's perspective.

Former South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt, current Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz are some of the names swirling about, although there's been no reports that they are in consideration.

For more on the Sun Devils check out House of Sparky.

ASU Responds To Coaching Search Rumors With Statement

2011-12-09T16:37:28Z

The Arizona State Sun Devils are getting hammered by the media and fans for their handling of the coaching search. As has been reported, ASU had a deal all but done with SMU's June Jones before yanking the offer at the last minute in response to negative feedback from the fans and boosters. Unfortunately, when you listen to pressure from one side, you often create issues somewhere else.

Here's a sample of what's being said about the Sun Devils coaching search:

ESPN Insider Mark May skewers ASU - ArizonaSports.com
"This is Arizona State," exclaimed May. "You're in the Pac-12, you just got a huge television contract and you have an influx of money and you can't go out and attract a marquee guy because they just botched up this June Jones deal."

ASU is trying to refute this notion that they are botching the job by releasing the following statement on their Facebook page and web site:

A Message from ASU: ASU does not comment on searches for deans, faculty, administrators or coaches. When we hire a new football coach and a contract is signed, we will announce that selection and introduce the coach at a press conference and to groups of ASU alumni, staff and supporters. Rumors of all sorts - the vast majority of them completely unfounded - have been flying about. An extraordinary number of inaccurate news reports, usually attributed to unnamed sources, have been published. In some cases these sources have no knowledge of the situation and are making guesses; in others they may be deliberate misrepresentations by people who have or believe they have a stake in the negotiations. We caution all Sun Devil fans to read and listen to these reports with a healthy amount of skepticism and to rest assured that we are pursuing a broad, thorough and highly professional search for a new football coach.

In the end, all will be forgotten if they can get a coach that wins enough games.