Herm Edwards reacts to naysayers over his ASU coaching candidacy

NFL analyst Herm Edwards may or may not hear the reaction — much of it negative — over the news of his candidacy in the Arizona State football head coaching search.

Two things about that: He doesn’t worry about it and he doesn’t believe many of those concerns over his resume to be true.

Confirming to Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station that he will meet with friend and ASU Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson this weekend, the current ESPN employee shook off any concerns about his ability to lead a college football program.

“I’m committed to traveling 6,000 miles every week to come to work. I don’t do things if I’m not committed to doing them,” Edwards said of his current job on Wednesday.

“I’m aware of this: In life, when changes occur, some people are optimistic and say, ‘Well, let’s give that person a chance’ and some people are not. I think at the end, it’s about winning. It’s always about winning.”

Edwards believes that he’s been involved in the profession despite his last full-time coaching job ending after the 2008 season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

At 63 years old, he feels connected with high school athletes working the annual Under Armour All-American game, a showcase of the top players in the country.

While Edwards said any terms of accepting the ASU job are between him and Anderson, Edwards had no doubt he is equipped to handle the rigors of being a college head coach.

“Recruiting doesn’t scare me. I’m not worried about walking into a parent’s home and telling them exactly what we’re going to do to develop their young man. You think I’m worried about talking to a mom or dad?” he said.

When Anderson spoke about the qualifications of replacing former coach Todd Graham, who was fired on Sunday, he hoped a new hire would be willing to retain current offensive coordinator Billy Napier and defensive coordinator Phil Bennett.

“We would want someone with an open mind and the ability to not do it the same old way that most coaches want to do it,” Anderson said, “come in and throw in a grenade and ‘I want to bring in all my own guys.’

“We’re not interested in that guy.”

That, not to mention Anderson’s desire to hire a coach before the NFL season ends, limits who might be available.

Edwards said he’d be willing to retain ASU’s two coordinators.

“I don’t know if they’re Todd Graham’s guys. They’re football guys,” he said. “Football guys are married to football, in the end. You keep good coaches.

“You don’t get rid of them because they’re somebody else’s guy. Coaches belong to football.”

Of course, the possibility of Edwards being offered and taking the ASU job will come down to the other options on the board and his conversation with Anderson in a formal interview.

“I just think there’s a mutual understanding of what we’re trying to achieve,” he said. “That’s how it works. It’s not ‘I need this’ or ‘you need that.’ It’s, ‘OK, this is the plan, we’re both in lockstep with the plan.'”

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