ASU coach Graham: ‘I know what my commitment is’
Jun 14, 2016, 3:26 PM | Updated: Jun 15, 2016, 11:34 am
Arizona State head coach Todd Graham speaks with Arizona State defensive back Jordan Simone (38) in the first half during an NCAA college football game against Utah Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Each time a head coaching job opens up in Todd Graham’s home state of Texas, his name seems to come up as a possible replacement.
Graham, who was born in Mesquite, Texas, coached at Allen High School from 1995-2000 and Rice University in 2006.
In fact, following the Art Briles scandal at Baylor, Graham’s name was connected to the gig.
Graham spoke with Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday and was asked about his name continuously being connected to football jobs in Texas.
“At the end of the day, I know what my commitment is. I don’t ever respond to any of that stuff. Most people around the program know what kind of commitment we have here,” Graham said.
Graham led the Sun Devils to a 34-19 record in his first four seasons, including a Pac-12 South championship in 2013. However, a 6-7 season for Arizona State last year was the first losing season for the program since Dennis Erickson was fired in 2011.
Despite the losing season, Graham remains optimistic about the state of the program.
“You have the dynamic leadership of Dr. Crow and Ray (Anderson). The things we have in place, it takes a lot of work,” Graham said. “It’s been a lot of energy that’s gone into this and working hard in recruiting and building this thing. It doesn’t sound too good to me starting over.”
The willingness of Graham and the university to commit to one another allows the team to maintain consistency in its’ push to becoming an elite program.
“I’ve never gotten the opportunity to do what I’m doing here. For my wife and I, we paid off our house and donated half a million dollars. There’s not much more I can do to show what kind of commitment I’ve got,” Graham said.
Graham continued, “The university has committed to me. We just renewed our contract, with our coaches and we make commitments to our staff. We’re committed to building a national powerhouse.”
