At one time Antonio Pierce was being groomed to be Herm Edwards' successor heading the Arizona State football program. The Sun Devils' head coach said as much on many occasions. Pierce was the first person Edwards brought in when he was hired as head coach in December of 2017.
But Pierce is headed out, expected to pursue NFL opportunities. An ASU spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that Pierce "is no longer employed by the university."
Pierce, 43, previously has turned down other professional football offers to continue working under Edwards. He had lot of labels in his tenure in Tempe, including linebackers coach, associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and defensive coordinator.
He had been serving as defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator the last two years.
Last season the Sun Devils (8-5, 6-3) led the Pac-12 in scoring defense (20.8 ppg) and total defense (326.3 ypg). They were second in interceptions (16), second in sacks (27), third in rushing defense (131.5 ypg), third in passing defense (194.8 ypg)
On the national level the Sun Devils ranked 13th in total defense and 22nd among 130 teams in scoring defense.
The timing appears to be right for Pierce to make the move back to the NFL.
Not only has he had opportunities before, but his status at ASU had very much been in limbo due to an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations that occurred during what was supposed to have been a "dead" period during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ASU is alleged to have had recruits on campus during that time. Pierce's role as recruiting coordinator would tie him to those violations and any subsequent penalties the NCAA might eventually hand out.
The school took measures to mitigate whatever penalties may come its way. Among those, it prohibited Pierce from going out on the road recruiting.
There was also some speculation about Pierce's role in the program in October, when he removed references to Arizona State in his Twitter bio — although a picture of him in Sun Devil Stadium remained.
Pierce, a product of the University of Arizona, played in the NFL for nine seasons, participating in 137 regular season games and seven playoff contests. He signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2001, and moved on to the New York Giants in 2005.
His time with the Giants was highlighted by a Super Bowl championship in 2008 in which the New York upset the previously undefeated New England Patriots 17-14. He was also named to the Pro Bowl that season.
Pierce finished his career with 687 tackles, nine sacks and seven interceptions.
Before coming to ASU spent four seasons as the head coach at Long Beach Poly High School (California), becoming the school’s first outside hire since 1971. He guided the Jackrabbits to the 2017 CIF Southern Section quarterfinals where they fell to eventual champion and national power Mater Dei.
The Sun Devils don't have to look outside the program when it comes to finding a successor to Pierce. Marvin Lewis is still on staff as an advisor to Edwards. He served as co-defensive coordinator with Pierce in 2020.
Donnie Henderson also remains on staff as a consultant. He was stepped in and coached the defensive backs last season on an interim basis and has more than 30 years under his belt, including a term as secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens.
The departure of Pierce, which wasn't completely unexpected given the NCAA investigation, means there will have been substantial turnover on the Sun Devils staff since the start of the 2021 season. He makes the fifth departure from the staff and it means both coordinators will have been among the changes with offensive coordinator Zak Hill resigning last week.
Glenn Thomas, previously at UNLV and a one-time quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons, was named as Hill's successor on Monday.
The other departures were defensive backs coach Chris Hawkins, tight ends coach Adam Breneman and wide receivers coach Prentice Gill, all of whom were put on administrative leave in August due to their involvement in the NCAA violations. Their ties to the university were severed last week.
