TEMPE, Ariz. — One thing Arizona State coach Herm Edwards has learned since he arrived in the winter of 2017: Staff retention isn’t so easy. In fact, Edwards recently joked that his wife looks at him after every football season and says, “How many guys are you going to end up keeping?”
This winter was no different. One position coach retired and at least two others were pursued after the Sun Devils completed their abbreviated season. University of Arizona representatives talked with then co-defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce about the Wildcats’ head coaching position. In addition, USC had strong interest in receivers coach Prentice Gill. Both have been vital to Arizona State’s rebuild under Edwards, particularly with recruiting.
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In the recent past, Arizona State has lost its share of key assistants. Edwards’ predecessor Todd Graham had three offensive coordinators in three seasons, and that turnover stunted program growth and proved to be a significant factor in his dismissal. This time, however, Arizona State retained its key assistants, which qualifies as one of the offseason’s bigger victories.
“They came after these guys,” Edwards said in a recent interview. “It took a lot of talking and a lot of this and that. A lot of people were involved in it, and we were fortunate.”
Edwards credited president Michael Crow, vice president of athletics Ray Anderson and deputy athletics director Jean Boyd for helping keep the assistants in place. According to information The Athletic received through a public records request, Pierce and Gill, as well as defensive line coach Robert Rodriguez, running backs coach Shaun Aguano, defensive backs coach Chris Hawkins and tight ends coach Adam Breneman received salary bumps.
The specifics:
• Pierce was promoted from co-defensive coordinator to defensive coordinator and had his annual base salary increased from $700,000 to $770,000. Based on USA Today’s assistant coach salary database, this would’ve made Pierce the Pac-12’s sixth-highest-paid assistant last year. Edwards is grooming Pierce to become a head coach, much in the same manner Tony Dungy groomed him in the NFL. Edwards has said it’s his hope that Pierce one day replaces him at Arizona State, but it’s unknown if the parties have an official agreement in place.
• Since his hire in 2019, Gill not only has been a recruiting force but has also molded what is perhaps Arizona State’s most talented position room. To help keep him in Tempe, Arizona State nearly doubled Gill’s base salary from $175,000 to $300,000.
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• Hawkins and Breneman, both 26, are two of the country’s youngest full-time assistants. Hawkins ranks as one of the 247Sports’ top recruiters in the country, and Breneman was so impressive as a graduate assistant that Edwards promoted him to a full-time assistant coach in January. Arizona State gave both assistants a $50,000 raise, boosting their base salaries to $150,000. That’s low for their positions, but maybe not for their age. It’s likely something the program will have to continue to address.
• Arizona State gave Rodriguez and Aguano each $25,000 raises. The move increased Rodriguez’s base salary to $350,000 and Aguano’s to $225,000.
“I always tell them,” Edwards said. “Whatever happens, guys, don’t surprise me. At least give me a chance to figure it out. If you got to leave and you want to leave, I get it. We’re not going to stop nobody. But we definitely without Dr. Crow, Ray and Jean, we would’ve lost some guys this year. No doubt. They were great.”
During the Graham era, Arizona State paid then-offensive coordinator Mike Norvell an annual package worth $1 million, but that’s been the exception rather than the rule. Per USA Today’s database, Arizona State’s 2020 assistant coaching salary pool of $3.7 million ranked fifth among the Pac-12’s 10 public schools (everyone except USC and Stanford).
Approaching his fourth season, Edwards has had just two assistants stay on staff all four years: Pierce and special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum. The departures have moved on for different reasons. Last year, offensive line coach Dave Christensen retired. In 2019, former defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales left to become head coach at New Mexico, his alma mater. Edwards has chosen not to retain four coaches. Others, like Gonzales, left for better opportunities.
As for Edwards, he turned 67 last month, but he doesn’t plan on slowing down. At least not until he accomplishes what he set out to do.
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“When it’s time for me to go, hopefully it will be on my own terms,” he said. “There’s some things that are in place that we can continue to have success. … I tell people all the time: This is my last job. I didn’t take this job to get another job because I could’ve already left two or three times. That’s not what I’m doing. I want to do something and do it the right way so I can feel good about what I’ve done.”
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
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