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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