Arizona State President Michael Crow runs his university like a business. Herm Edwards models his football program after an NFL blueprint. Together, the two seem to be in-sync following Edwards first full season leading the Sun Devils.
“I think we’ve had a great start with our new model,” Crow said to Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat. “Our new model, basically a team effort, [is] not built around a single person. That means the head coach has to be ready to cooperate, to work with others to make things happen.”
Edwards certainly made things happen last fall helping put ASU football back on the map with a respectable 7-6 season, including a 19-point fourth-quarter comeback over rival Arizona in Tucson last month.
An early season victory on ESPN over perennial Big Ten power Michigan State seemed to help jump-start the positive momentum, something Crow believed was lacking under former coach Todd Graham and his staff.
“Herman can out-chess chess masters,” Crow said of the ASU’s late-game execution which led to Brandon Ruiz’s game-winning field goal on the final play. “I thought, ‘This is like five chess moves in a row. This guy out-checkmated him.’ That was the end of the game right there.”
Crow believes Edwards has also established a special bond with his players, which stretch well beyond the field of play. Despite not having coached at the college in decades, his vision was clear when he took the job just over a year ago.
The off-season will be a short one for the Devils who will start their spring workouts in early February.
