Arizona State loses offensive coordinator Billy Napier to head coaching job

There’s another wrench in Arizona State’s plan under Herm Edwards, as offensive coordinator Billy Napier has left for a head coaching job.

Upon firing Todd Graham on Thanksgiving weekend, Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson was clear with his intention a new head football coach would be advised to retain both of Graham’s coordinators. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett will leave his post due to family reasons after the Sun Bowl on Dec. 29, and now the other coordinator is set to leave Herm Edwards’ staff.

Edwards almost immediately added the title of associate head coach for offensive coordinator Billy Napier, in what could easily be deemed a preemptive move to keep him if another opportunity came along. But said other opportunity has indeed come, and a juicier title has not kept Napier from leaving Tempe.

According to multiple reports, Napier will become the next head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette after being offered the job late Thursday. Mark Hudspeth was fired as head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns after a 5-7 record this year, and with a 51-38 record over seven seasons.

Napier worked under both Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban, as tight ends coach, offensive coordinator, an offensive analyst and wide receivers coach, with a brief stint as quarterbacks coach under Jim McElwain at Colorado State in between. In his lone season at Arizona State, the Sun Devils improved from 103rd to 65th in the country in yards per play.

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Anderson’s plan to keep both Napier and Bennett under a new football coach, flawed as it was from the outset, has now completely blown up in his face. The departures of Bennett and Napier may have more to do with Graham’s firing than with any new coach specifically, but criticism of the move to hire Edwards after nearly a decade out of coaching is set to ramp up.