According to multiple sources, the Arizona State Sun Devils have made their decision on a new head football coach, finally settling on former SMU head coach June Jones to be Dennis Erickson's replacement in Tempe:
Per John Gambadoro on Twitter:
Paul Calvisi tweeted on Wednesday that the school had made their decision late last night, eventually decding on Jones as the best fit amongst their other candidates. Jones is 96-69 in his head collegiate coaching carrer, 5-2 in bowl games as well as sporting a 23-28 record while at SMU.
He isn't the most popular of picks though, as pointed out by SB Nation's Brad Denny:
The similarities run deep. Both are offensive minded coaches who have impressive collegiate resumes who flamed out in the NFL and are now past their prime. One other similarity--they are not for ASU. Jones is not the long term solution that ASU needs right now, and there is a strong probability that the Devils will be looking for another coach in four to five years after another period of mediocrity laced with passing yards.
Here's a bit more on his umpopularity from the Arizona Republic's Doug Haller:
The only thing certain at this point: He's not the fans' choice. Dozens have reached out to me over the past couple days. You can count the number of those supporting the hire on one hand. One former player told me that around 20 former ASU players met at a Tempe hotel on Sunday to discuss their concern over the direction of the search.
There could be some unrest on the horizon for those in and around the Sun Devil football program as they try to rebuild under the watch of a new, polarizing head coach...should Jones actually get the job.
For more on the Sun Devils, head over to House of Sparky.