Arizona State hires Herm Edwards as head coach

Arizona State’s bold move is official.

The Sun Devils announced the hiring of former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Herm Edwards as football coach Sunday night, ushering in a new, unexpected era for the program.

A news conference to introduce Edwards is scheduled for Monday morning and his hiring is pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents.

The school said in a release that Edwards will oversee a “New Leadership Model” that’s similar to the NFL approach using a general manager structure.

“Our goal for this football program is to reach unprecedented heights, and therefore we need to find a way to operate more innovatively and efficiently than we have in the past,” athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement. “In the spirit of innovation, our vision for this program is to have a head coach who serves as a CEO and is the central leader with a collaborative staff around him that will elevate the performance of players and coaches on the field, in the classroom and in our community. Equally important, the head coach will be a dynamic and tireless recruiter.”

The Sun Devils fired coach Todd Graham after six seasons on Nov. 26 and wanted to move quickly with the early-signing period for high school recruits starting Dec. 20.

Arizona State did make a quick, albeit surprising move by hiring the 63-year-old Edwards, who hasn’t coached since 2008 after being fired by the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

Edwards spent the last nine years as an NFL analyst for ESPN and has not coached in college since serving as a San Jose State assistant in 1989. He’s also served as a coach for the Under Armour All-American game for the past eight years, working with some of the nation’s top high school recruit.

Washington hires Bush Hamdan as offensive coordinator

Washington has moved quickly to fill its opening for offensive coordinator, hiring Bush Hamdan, the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons.

Washington announced the hiring Sunday, though Hamdan won’t take over his new role until the NFL season is over.

He replaces Jonathan Smith, who was named head coach at Oregon State earlier this week.

Hamdan spent the 2015-16 seasons on Washington’s coaching staff before leaving for the NFL. His final role with Washington was wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.

He also worked at Davidson, Arkansas State, Florida, Sacramento State, Maryland and Colorado. Hamdan played for Washington coach Chris Petersen at Boise State between 2006-08.