As morning turned into afternoon, and a 27-14 Arizona State lead turned into a stunning 28-27 loss, Chris Claiborne stood on a victorious USC sideline with great joy. Spending the pandemic-shortened season as an offensive quality control analyst for the Trojans, the former USC linebacker great, understood how close the Sun Devils were to taking control of the Pac-12 South on that early November morning.
“I was on the other side like, ‘if we lose this one, wooh we’re out of here,’” Claiborne told reporters Wednesday during an introductory press conference as the Sun Devils new linebackers coach – a move which followed Antonio Pierce’s elevation to defensive coordinator for the 2021 season. “I was happy that day, but I think going forward; I’m really looking forward to us playing here and being with the group of guys that we have. I’m really, really excited about it.”
In the leadup to the Sun Devils 2020 season-opener, Claiborne spent time breaking down the Arizona State defense for USC head coach Clay Helton’s staff. Now, as Pierce steps up, and Claiborne steps into the linebacker room at ASU; he’ll be coaching a group he’s familiar with.
“There was just a lot of talent, and of course a lot of guys from SoCal, so you knew they were going to be highly motivated,” noted Claiborne of what he saw from the Sun Devil defense. In years past, Claiborne coached linebacker Merlin Robertson in 7-on-7 and is familiar with plenty of ASU’s players from the Southern California area. “There’s a lot of talent here. I knew those guys. They did a lot of great things (in the USC game). They just need to finish.”
Claiborne’s ties to his new position aren’t hard to understand. During a short period in 2006, Pierce and Claiborne were teammates for the New York Giants. Before that, the two linebackers spent time competing in what was then the Pac-12, Claiborne for the Trojans and Pierce for Arizona.
For the second consecutive off-season, the Sun Devils have poached a young, energetic assistant off the Trojans coaching staff. With a focus on recruiting Southern California as well as Arizona, the additions of defensive backs coach Chris Hawkins and Claiborne represent another step in that direction.
“First of all, my job is to bring in the best talent,” Claiborne noted, understanding the importance of his role in adding talent to the Arizona State roster and gaining the upper hand on USC in the Pac-12 South. “There’s some great talent in California, as well as there’s some great talent in Arizona. That’s my main thing. As far as the competition between the two programs, it’s about winning the Pac-12 South. It doesn’t matter who we have to go through to get there; that should be our only focus.”
Claiborne is well aware of the history of the Trojans program largely due to the role he played in it. As a player for the Trojans, Claiborne was one of the best at his position in the country. In 1998, Claiborne won the Butkus Award, an honor given to the nation’s top linebacker.
“Yes, USC has a great history,” said Claiborne, noting the challenges competing against his alma mater presents. “I know that. I’ve been there. I’ve been a part of it. But, at the end of the day, I’m looking forward to what I’ll be able to do here with the group of linebackers that I have here. It’s not personal; it’s straight business.”
During an interview with Devils Digest, Pierce expressed his faith in Claiborne to take over his position group and continue to make it a strong-suit of the Sun Devil defense. On Wednesday, Claiborne noted the importance of continuing to build upon the culture instilled in ASU’s linebackers by Pierce.
“When you want to step away from one position and move up and get elevated to the coordinator position, you want to make sure you leave the linebackers in good hands,” explained Pierce as Claiborne joins a defense that allowed 23.2 points per game in 2020 while forcing 13 turnovers in four games. “You want to pass on the torch to somebody else and give them the same thing you received. Now Chris will put his own spin on it, his own lingo. But we come from the same tree.
“I know what he’s made of; I know that our guys will look for him for the same questions and answers that they looked to get from me. And he will have those answers for them, and it will be very similar… It’s gonna be a smooth transition, and with everything we got going on, you don’t want any hiccups.”
Claiborne was complimentary of Pierce’s coaching of the linebacker group now, which brings back veteran experience in Darien Butler, Merlin Robertson, and Kyle Soelle for the 2021 season.
As the Sun Devils head toward the 2021 season, the fourth under the Herm Edwards regime and the “Pro Model” at ASU, Claiborne will add to one of the most well-rounded assistant coaching groups in ASU’s program history. With an eight-year NFL career to tout, Claiborne gives the Sun Devils another assistant coach with ties to the next level.
“AP has done a great job of developing those guys,” Claiborne said. “It’s just going to be some new tweaks that I’m going to add to it.”
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