In a staffing move that allows both defensive scheme continuity and retention of the best recruiting coach on staff, Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards announced on his weekly All Aboard radio show on Thursday night that cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator Tony White has been promoted to defensive coordinator. Additionally, Edwards stated that linebackers coach Antonio Pierce has been promoted to associate head coach, while remaining a position coach and recruiting coordinator.
The promotion of White was done following the departure of outgoing defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, who accepted the head coach position at his alma mater at the University of New Mexico on Monday. White is very close to Gonzales and followed him to ASU from San Diego State following the 2017 season, as the two implemented the 3-3-5 defensive scheme in Tempe, the same system that White has been working with Gonzales since his days the University of New Mexico in 2008.
Edwards’ hiring of Gonzales for ASU’s defensive coordinator position was naturally an endorsement of the 3-3-5 scheme, one that allowed the Sun Devils to improve dramatically on this side of the ball. In his two years at the helm of the Sun Devil defense, Gonzales with much assistance from White who was in the coaches’ booth on game day, has improved the unit from giving up 31.3 points per game and 447 yards per game in 2017 to yielding 23.1 points per game and 386.9 yards per game in 2019. Furthermore, after the end of the 2017 season, ASU ranked 108 in total defense and 104 in scoring defense, and currently the Sun Devils improved those rankings to 65 and 41 respectively. Conversely, the Sun Devils thus far this season rank 114th among FBS schools with 270.1 passing yards yielded average, in part due to a poor pass rush that is ranked 83rd in sacks.
The retention of Antonio Pierce allows ASU to keep its best recruiting coach, one who has fully utilized his Southern California connections to aid the Sun Devils’ recruiting efforts. In the 2019 class, Pierce was instrumental in landing four players from that region most notably flipping four-star wide receiver and Oregon pledge Johnny Wilson, who is also a Top-100 prospect, as well as securing a pair of four-star prospects from the Golden State in linebacker Jordan Banks and wide receiver Chad Johnson Jr.
ASU from a staffing numbers standpoint will still have to fill the void left by Gonzales. For its Sun Bowl matchup versus Florida State on December 31st, team advisor and former NFL head coach, Marvin Lewis will have on the field coaching duties. It isn’t out of the question that Lewis could also be the long-term solution in this department.
