It looks like Herm Edwards is in position to become Arizona State’s next football coach. Pending president Michael Crow’s approval, an announcement could come early next week.

This is an outside-the-box move from Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson, one with a lot of risk. Edwards, a former NFL coach, last coached in 2008. He has spent the last nine years working as an NFL analyst for ESPN. He hasn’t worked a college sideline in nearly three decades.

My thoughts on the potential hire:

First off, nothing is final until the news conference. Think back to 2011. Crow and chief operating officer Steve Patterson met in Texas with agent Leigh Steinberg to finalize a deal with then-SMU coach June Jones. They had everything in place, but Steinberg brought up some final details, mostly minor. Crow objected. Deal fell apart. Six days later, ASU hired Todd Graham.

Anderson has had all season to think about this. After Anderson fired Graham, he announced that a national search would start immediately. In reality, he’s thought about this for months. Anderson wouldn’t have fired Graham without a replacement in mind. He said no search firm, which makes sense if you already have your guy. Also, according to the ASU Recruitment and Selection Handbook, there is no minimum number of applicants that needs to be interviewed for a position. 

Still, this has been odd. A top candidate talking publicly about a job on national TV and local radio? Schools go to great lengths to keep searches quiet. True, this is different because Edwards isn’t tied to a school; he’s actually a member of the media. But it was odd to hear Anderson tell reporters that he would say nothing – and then let his top candidate talk publicly. And if Edwards really is Anderson’s guy, how has he not already met Crow?

This is a strange path back to the sideline. NFL analyst is a nice gig. There’s a reason Jon Gruden hasn’t returned to coaching since he entered the broadcast booth in 2008. There’s no pressure. No late nights studying film. No flying across the country to watch recruits. Is Edwards up for all this? Two years ago he told Newsday that he wouldn’t return to coaching because he preferred television and that he wanted to raise his young daughters in Carmel, Calif. On Wednesday’s radio appearance on Arizona Sports’ FM 98.7 Edwards twice said he “owed” Anderson a conversation about the job.  Does he want it or is he simply doing Anderson a favor? 

Anderson wants a dynamic recruiter. No doubt, Edwards has the personality and people skills to connect. He could be good – even great  — in the living room, but recruiting these days stretches in several areas. Just one example: A coach has to have a social-media presence. Edwards has a Twitter account, but he hasn’t tweeted since Sept. 1, 2010.

Retaining Graham’s assistants is key. Anderson said during Sunday’s news conference that Graham’s staff – particularly offensive coordinator Billy Napier and defensive coordinator Phil Bennett – would have a chance to return. That seemed strange. After all, what coach wants to come in and have the previous coach’s assistants forced on him? But if you hire an older coach with limited college ties it makes more sense. Edwards could take on a “CEO” role and rely on his assistants. That said, Graham’s staff may not want to work for someone who didn’t hire them. Some might already have started pursuing other jobs.

The NFL factor. A former NFL executive, Anderson almost sounded embarrassed Sunday when he mentioned ASU’s poor showing in recent NFL Drafts. (Graham had 10 players drafted during his six seasons, including only one last year, kicker Zane Gonzalez). The guess here is that Anderson thinks Edwards could help change that given his NFL background. Perhaps. But recruits might see Edwards more as a TV guy than a former NFL coach.  

The age factor. If hired, Edwards will be 64 when ASU opens next season against Texas San Antonio. That would make him the Pac-12’s oldest coach by nearly six years. Five-year deals are usually the norm for college coaches. If he stays in place that long, Edwards would be on the doorstep of 70 at the end of his contract. That means, no matter how this goes, we’re probably looking at another coaching search in about five or six years. Of course, with the way college football is these days, that might be the case no matter what. At the same time, it’s hard to argue that age is a major disadvantage when the sport’s best coach, Alabama’s Nick Saban, recently turned 66.

The performance factor. Let’s be honest: Edwards’ NFL record doesn’t sparkle. He went 39-41 in five seasons with the New York Jets and 15-33 in three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. In eight seasons, he went to the playoffs four times. He does, however, have one thing in common with new UCLA coach Chip Kelly. They both went 2-14 in their final NFL seasons.   

Anderson’s putting his job on the line. An athletic director does this anytime he hires a football coach, but the fact that Anderson has history with Edwards makes it even more so. A former agent, Anderson used to represent Edwards during the latter’s coaching days. It’s a move that already is getting national criticism. None of that will matter if Edwards wins. If he doesn’t, he won’t be the only one remembered for it. 

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Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller. Download the ASU XTRA app to stay on top of the latest sports news regarding the Sun Devils.