Todd Graham was not going to leave Pittsburgh for just any
job.

Sure, other schools called, but the only one he was
interested in was Arizona State.

“My connection to this city is really…a lot of our
supporters there at Tulsa also had homes at Desert
Mountain, so we’ve been coming to Desert Mountain for
quite some time and loved this city and love this place,”
Graham told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo.
“Obviously, my interest was really in Arizona State, it
was the only job, really.”

Graham said he and his wife had talked about someday
retiring in Arizona, and while he’s not spending much time
thinking about his post-coaching life, it is something
that attracted him to the job.

“It was a perfect situation for us, not only just for my
family, but I came here as a young coach,” Graham said,
“my former superintendent when I was a head high school
coach at Allen High School, she moved and left Allen and
came to Scottsdale and became the superintendent out here
and I actually came out and visited.”

Graham said he had a chance to meet ASU coach Frank Kush
and “marvel” at the football stadium.

“Dreamed of being at a place like this,” he said.

Now he’s at the place of his dreams, and the work has
already begun. Graham said he’s already been on the road
recruiting, looking to separate himself from the rest of
the Pac-12’s coaches.

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