Former Sun Devil great interested in ASU head coaching vacancy

Since Dennis Erickson was fired on Monday as Arizona State’s head football coach, names and rumors of his replacement have been bantered about on talk shows, in sports bars, and chat rooms around the country.

We’ve heard Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, fellow Conference USA coach Larry Fedora at Southern Mississippi, and embattled former Texas Tech boss Mike Leach.

Now you can add Danny White to the list.

Yes, that Danny White.

“I would love to be,” the former Sun Devil All-American and Dallas Cowboy quarterback told Brad Cesmat on “Big Guy on Sports” Tuesday. “It would be a blast.”

White, who is working as a radio game analyst with the Cowboys, believes ASU’s program must be made over.

“What’s needed over there is a culture change,” The National Football Foundation College Hall of Famer explained to Cesmat. “It’s not just about coaching and getting players. It’s the intangibles. It’s playing as hard on the last play of the game as you did on the first play of the game.”

That’s certainly the case for talented, yet unpredictable junior linebacker Vontaze Burfict who was benched by Erickson in Friday’s loss to Cal after committing two personal foul penalties on one third quarter drive.

“He was the reason Dennis Erickson got fired,” White said. “He’s what I call a coach killer. He’s such a great athlete you got to have him on the field. But by the same token, the negatives outweigh the positives with him.” 

Danny White on ‘Big Guy on Sports’

Athletic Director Lisa Love said ASU’s search for Erickson’s replacement is well underway with a handful of other schools looking to fill similar vacancies.

“The timetable is very important,” Love told the assembled media late Monday afternoon. “While there’s not a sense of urgency, there is a sense of great aggressiveness.”

Erickson, who will coach the Sun Devils (6-6, 4-5) in their upcoming bowl game, was named the 2007 Pac-10 Coach of the Year after leading ASU to the Holiday Bowl and their first 10-win season in nearly decade.

In his five years in Tempe, Erickson’s record was 31-30.