Herm Edwards was stunned by size of Arizona State’s game jerseys

Herm Edwards was shown an Arizona State game jersey and, well, he was a little bit confused.

Herm Edwards is jumping from his role as ESPN football analyst and prime stoker of the weekly “dumpster fire” segment on NFL Live to be the new head coach at Arizona State, the first college coaching job he has held since coaching defensive backs at San Jose State in 1989.  A lot has changed since 1989, like game uniforms, for example, as Edwards learned on his first day in the office.

After some difficulty in deciding which way the Sun Devil logo should face when pinned to his jacket, Edwards looked up to see an assistant holding up an Arizona State jersey, asking, “Is that a girl’s jersey?” The assistant had to assure Edwards that he was holding the real thing, an authentic game day jersey as worn by the athletes he will soon be coaching. Rocked and confused, Edwards simply muttered, “That’s a GAME jersey?”

The term “dumpster fire” has followed Edwards into the first days following his appointment, taking on momentum after an extremely odd first press conference and a series of admissions that highlight the distance between his work as an on-air commentator and the day-to-day job to be done as head coach. Edwards is anything but understated in his delivery; he was, as always, on fire when introduced to the Sun Devils faithful. With typical Edwards intensity, he observed, “Football ignites my soul.” Turning to issues in the larger world, Edwards reminded the press, “We don’t huddle anymore in our society. That’s the problem, to be honest.”

Some think the problem may be larger than the huddle or even the game jersey. It’s not clear that Edwards has a handle on NCAA recruiting rules to say nothing of familiarity with the game as it is played at the college level. A goofy press conference and obvious distress in sizing up a jersey, however, are less significant than Edwards’ ability to work with the team of assistants who are obviously meant to do the actual coaching for the most part. He’s a force of nature and tough to contain, and those qualities do not always translate to the CEO model of coaching.

On the other hand, Edwards as the closer on the recruiting trail could be as relentless as a bobcat in a phone booth. It’s hard to imagine a high school senior escaping unsigned when Edwards waves that tiny jersey in full soul ignited passion.