College football fans around the country were shocked in 2018 when Arizona State University hired Herm Edwards as its new coach. Here was a guy that had been on TV and not on a sideline coaching football in a decade. He hasn’t coached college football in nearly three decades.
Plenty of jokes followed the hire, but two years and a pair of bowl appearances later, Edwards has shown all the doubters why he was the right guy for the Sun Devils.
On Monday, Edwards was a guest on CBS Sports Radio’s The Pat McAfee Show. McAfee asked the coach how his ten years on TV made him a better football coach. Edwards responded that an analyst’s job offers a lot of the same challenges as coaching teenagers.
“I’ve always felt this way, but more so now because of the young generation that plays the sport,” Edwards said. “You gotta tell them ‘why’. Why is first.”
Edwards also said that he learned there is no time for boring. That is especially true with a generation that spent more time watching YouTube on a phone or tablet than watching two-hour movies in theaters.
“You gotta grab their attention, because they multi-task. That’s how they’re brains operate.”
Later in the interview, Edwards explained how he implements the “why” with his players. Just like during his time on ESPN, Edwards said that when he talks about plays and how they should work, a little video evidence goes a long way.
“When we put stuff in, we’ll put it in and then go ‘Hey man, these three pro teams run this.’ All the sudden, the film comes on. It’s the same offense, same defense, same plays. And they go ‘Oh, pro football! Let’s watch this.'”