With the whole staff staying in place, and just Graham being fired, it seems like less of an Xs and Os thing, and more of a motivation/figurehead thing.
in that sense, it makes sense to hire someone who’s a known commodity as a motivator and wants to mentor young men.
High schoolers will know him from ESPN (for now), so he gets that boost in recruiting. He’s stayed around football and has studied players for draft coverage, so it’s not a completely ice cold jump back in.
For as out of left field as it seems, it’s no different than any team hiring Gruden. I applaud Arizona State for thinking outside the box; I think it’s a brilliant move.
Of course, I could be wrong. It’s happened a time or three.